A Tale of Four Brothers
by PrayerGirl
Summary: No one knows who it will choose, or why. Few even know of its existence. But when four boys with entirely different personalities come together, the Mutation chooses them. Now, they must learn to hide their secrets of transformation, survive high school, stop an ancient evil from rising and learn the secret art of Ninjutsu in their new form as... turtles? (2k12 verse, Human AU)
1. Chapter 1

**SUP! Long time no read! I've been livin' life and writing other things :D Anyway I was reading different TMNT stories and I found this one and the Author put it up for adoption. So I was like MINE! Kida The Freak (The author) was kind enough to let me adopt it! I'm really excited and this initial idea is not mine, but the rest of it and how it all fits is! The first three chapters belong to her and starting with the fourth chapter on is mine! Also real quick note. I'm not going to be doing any T-Cest. For one I just don't care for it so sorry about that, but there will be some Apriltello and maybe LeoXKarai. The cover image belongs to lorna-ka on Deviantart. You guys should check her out. She's really freaking good! Anywho on with the story!**

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><p>"Yame!"<p>

The instructor's shout halted the two sparring teenagers in the middle of their motions, the youth performing with two shinai glancing the thrust of one bamboo sword against the wrist of his opponent. The shout of "stop" summoned the end of the unfinished match, and the students took their respective bows. The sensei stepped forward, beckoning one of the students to speak with him.

"Leonardo," The elder man began with pride when his pupil stopped to stand before him, shinai still in hand. "Your kendo skills have yet to disappoint. However, I am sensing an inner turmoil that is distracting both the mind and the sword, and it would do you well to share your burden and make it lighter."

Leonardo sighed, feeling the sweat covering his face as he pulled off his men and ran his fingers through his black hair. He really didn't want to bother his sensei right now with his petty qualms. The wise instructor had enough on his plate as it was, what with the kendo tournament rapidly approaching.

"I'm fine, sensei Tsuyoi, just… just a little worried about the tournament."

"Ah, yes," Tsuyoi agreed with a brief nod. "If you felt no fear, I must have raised a fool, and you are no fool, Leonardo. You are one of the most studious and respective of my students, and your devotion echoes through your kendo skills. You will be fine, and bring honor to our dojo. This I know."

Leonardo relaxed subtly, not quite totally reassured, but feeling his confidence taking on a stronger root. His face reddened slightly under his sensei's praise, and he ducked his head to smile shyly.

His teacher reached out, patting him firmly on the shoulder. "Go change and rest for the evening. Tiring you out before the competition will do you no good, my student, and you have already done well."

"Thank you, sensei." Leo said, bowing to his teacher, then the dojo as a show of respect before he left through the door to put his equipment away for the day.

The dojo Leo trained in was just an unused part of the neighborhood gym that had become the training room for the local high school's kendo club. As such, the gym had its own locker rooms and showers, for which Leo was grateful. It would be a pain to walk home smelling like the fish the cafeteria served in third grade.

Leo splashed the sink's water onto his face, having finished his shower and dressed in a tank top and shorts. He dabbed at his face with a sweat-soaked towel and studied his appearance in the mirror, reaching for the comb in his gym bag.

He stood about average height for a fifteen year old boy, with neat black hair cut to just the right length. He was obviously of Japanese descent, having close ancestors directly from Japan himself. But his most striking feature was his brilliant blue eyes.

He wasn't quite sure where he got them from, honestly. Neither of his parents had them. He supposed it had something to do with recessive genes, but he didn't think too deeply into the matter. It was what it was, and Leo never obsessed about anything beyond his control.

He gathered up his gym bag and slung it over his shoulder after he tugged on his jacket, pushing open the locker room doors and wandering down the hall to the front desk. It was customary to sign in and out when entering and leaving, and although it wasn't a rule enforced at the gym, Leo made sure to sign his name every time.

It wasn't until he was passing the weight room that the hairs on the back of his neck prickled under what Leonardo could assume was someone's gaze. His steps faltered and he came to a halt before the glass wall of the weight room, looking through the windows with curiosity etched on his face. Instantly, his blue eyes met the radioactive green of a scowling redhead. Like anyone would when they meet the eyes of a stranger, the short-but-muscular redhead turned back to what he was doing; in his case, beating the heck out of the poor punching bag.

Leo didn't know what the other boy's deal was, but that look had sure felt like a challenge.

A challenge he couldn't back down from.

And even though Leo tried to shake that feeling from his mind, it stuck like glue, clinging to his thoughts. He gritted his teeth, tightening the grip on his bag as he turned and left. He didn't look back at the room, but he wanted to.

It wasn't until he was outside that Leo felt like he could breathe better, away from that oddly-inflicted frustration. He sighed, coming down the steps to sit on the bench while he waited for the next bus. The congregation of New Yorkers that usually filled the streets to the seams was less than they usually were on a warm fall evening. Only a few other people were walking up and down the sidewalks. Leo leaned back, closing his eyes for just a few moments of rest…

"Hey, dude, you okay?" A cheery voice asked, a finger poking him in the cheek. Leo grunted, squeezing his eyes tighter as he tried to swat away whoever was bothering him.

"Duuuude…" The voice complained. "You've been asleep for an hour! Aren't you like, supposed to catch the bus or something?"

Leo's eyes snapped open at that with a gasp, and he sat up quickly. "What time is it!?" He looked over to the kid kneeling on the bench next to him, a shorter boy with curly blonde hair and a smattering of freckles on his face. He looked like he had the energy of a seven year old, though he couldn't have been much younger than Leo.

The kid grinned cheekily, obviously amused. "Its five thirty, dude, and you just missed the bus five minutes ago."

Leonardo groaned, slouching back into the bench. "Great. Dad's going to kill me…" He covered his face with his hands, feeling ashamed that he let the time slip away from him. Sensei was right. All this worry was wearing him down.

A few moments passed before Leo peeked out from behind his fingers, confused as to why the kid was still sitting next to him, energetically bouncing in a way that was obviously habit. Leo sat up, fixing the boy with a curious look.

"Did you miss the bus too?" He asked.

"Nah, man, I just live over there and saw you still sleeping. Thought you had somewhere important to be."

Leo looked over to where the boy pointed; a cold brick alley without even a fire escape that could have led to his home.

"You're homeless?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically. "Uh-huh, but I'm not lonely, 'cause then I get to meet people like you. It's boring to just live like 'regular people' do." He said, air-quoting "regular people". Leo couldn't believe how nonchalant he was towards his homeless status, and he looked down at the boy with a feeling of… regret? Pity? Horror?

"How do you keep yourself alive?" He asked, disbelieving.

"Simple!" The boy said, with what Leo was coming to know as one of his signature mischievous smiles. "I just take meals that people throw out, as long as they still smell okay, and I know the best hiding places from the shady guys. I'm good, bro!"

Even as he was speaking, Leo could see how skinny this boy really was. He probably hadn't had a proper meal in a few days. Leo settled on the feeling of pity, and pulled his gym bag from underneath the bench, not answering the curious eyes of the boy. He dug out his wallet, relieved to have found it untouched. At least the boy was not a thief as well as homeless. He fished a twenty from his allowance, handing it to the kid. "Here."

Instantly, the boy put up his hands as if to decline. His blue eyes were wide with surprise. "No way, bro! I just came to talk to you for company, not to take your money! I mean, thanks for offering and all, but-"

"Just take it. Please? It'd make me feel better."

The boy's eyes flicked at the twenty, then to Leo, as though debating whether or not to take it. Reluctantly, he let Leo hand it to him. He looked up at the kendo player with a look of admiration, like a younger brother would to an older brother.

"Thanks dude! If there's ever anything I can do for you in return-"

"Just be sure to spend that on food, and not comics or something, okay? By the way, I never caught your name."

"Michelangelo!" He said, holding out a hand. "But you can call me Mikey!"

Leo smiled a little, accepting the handshake, or a bro-shake, as Mikey later called it. "I'm Leonardo."

"Okay, Leo! You're my new bestest friend!" Mikey said, practically dislocating Leo's shoulder with his shakes. "I won't ever forget your gift of awesomeness, my brave man!"

Leo couldn't help but chuckle at his antics, despite his arm being yanked. He managed to disentangle himself gradually, and had to shake the numb feeling out. "Okay, that's enough. I still need my arm."

Mikey grinned sheepishly, ducking his head. "Sorry, it's just… I haven't had a permanent friend in a long while." His face fell ever-so-slightly, but it still wasn't enough to dim his bright outlook.

Leo smiled gently, putting his hand on Mikey's shoulder. "You're definitely a good kid, Mikey. If anyone wouldn't want to be your friend, I'd be shocked."

Mikey looked up, hopeful and happy. "Thanks bro. And Leo?"

"Hm?"

"You're about to miss the bus again."

"Shoot!" Leo said, jumping to his feet and grabbing his bag again. "I'll see you around the next time I've got kendo practice! See you later Mikey!" He shouted over his shoulder, waving as he jumped up the steps of the bus.

"Bye Leo-dude!"

**..::-::..**

The ride back to his apartment was rather uneventful for Leo. He would've fallen asleep again if it weren't for musings about Mikey. He was an interesting kid for sure, not letting anything get him down and depressed. Leo realized with a start that he was already coming to think of the boy like one would feel towards a little brother.

There were few homes in New York. Most people lived in apartments. If you were Leonardo, however, your apartment was pretty close to a mansion. When your dad owns one of the most successful smartphone companies, you tend to A.) Have a lot of money lying around, and B.) Not see your parents very much. Leo unlocked his front door, pushing it open with his unoccupied shoulder. It was no surprise that no one was home to greet him.

Leo sighed and tossed his bag next to the door, kicking it out of the way as he walked over to the fridge. A note was taped to it in perfect cursive, his mother's handwriting, explaining that they wouldn't be back until next week. They had a last-minute business trip. Ignoring the letter, Leo opened the fridge in hopes of finding some of the leftover pizza, which he grabbed and took to the couch. It looks like he'd be ordering pizza the rest of the week. His parents always turned up their noses whenever Leonardo tried to explain that it was his favorite food.

He flicked on the flat screen TV, flipping channels until he finally settled on a re-run of Space Heroes, his favorite show. He leaned back into the cushions with a sigh, tossing the empty pizza box onto the coffee table. Guess it was just going to be him this week. Normally, that would signify another boring seven days.

But then again, no one is ever really sure when their life will take a complete U-turn.

**..::-::..**

Beneath the nighttime city, an aged, but not yet elderly being stirred from its meditation, whiskers twitching in the dim light that filtered through a grate above. Red-brown eyes snapped open, and the sound of a sharp breath broke the silence.

"Gureto Totsuzenhen'i…" It murmured. "It is rousing."


	2. Chapter 2

Leo groaned, rolling over to try and find his missing sheets that always seem to find a way to disappear sometime in the middle of the night.

All he accomplished was getting a bump on the head as he slipped off the couch.

Groggily, Leo sat up, his normally perfect hair sticking up on all sides. He began feeling weird last night before he drifted off on the couch-which is in itself something Leonardo would never do-and he still felt that odd sensation this morning. As if to add insult to injury, the clock on the wall glared at him with the time of one-seventeen.

In the afternoon.

For a while, Leo didn't understand why it said it was so late, and he didn't move for a bit, sleepily gaping up at the wall clock. When the time finally dawned on him, he shoved down his panic. The power must have gone out sometime last night, he tried to rationalize, pushing himself up with the coffee table. He winced as a hand was covered in leftover pizza grease. He grabbed the remote and flicked off the TV with his clean hand, and all but stumbled into the kitchen. Maybe a power outage screwed with the time.

It was right after he washed the pizza sauce off that he remembered that the clock ran on batteries. Leo groaned and hit his head on the fridge, emphasizing the bad day this was turning into. He'd have to call in sick; there was no way he'd go to school with only an hour of class left, and this way his parents wouldn't kill him if they found out he missed a day. But one thing was for sure. Leo would make sure to never miss another day of school again.

His dad would probably already be stern with him when he got home. Mr. West was the kind of father with great expectations, which is why Leo is taking numerous Honors classes. He wasn't a bad father, not at all. He just asked much of his family. '_And,_' Leo thought, unbidden, '_he isn't around as much as I'd like him to be…_'

Leo did his best to push his musings about his family aside, opting instead to shower. It may be too late for him to go to school, but he could still find something to do in New York. Leo went into his personal bathroom, turning on the water in his shower to a temperature that was not quite hot, but not lukewarm either. Leo shut his door deciding that his shower would not take more than ten minutes.

After his shower, he called the school then threw on a blue sleeveless hoodie and jeans, grabbing his backpack as an afterthought. Maybe later he would return that book he borrowed from sensei Tsuyoi on Japanese history. He locked the apartment up, a force of habit, before he took the elevator down.

The streets were definitely busier today, and Leo had to jostle among the crowd, pushing past people and wincing when elbows struck his side or when people stepped on his toes. Briefly, he wished he could just travel by air, or rooftop, even, to avoid the masses that seemed just so… monotonous.

It made Leo feel small, sometimes. Insignificant. He was just another face in this crowd, moving along with the other nameless people in one big group. He didn't stand out any more than the person next to him. Or behind him. He was just… average.

He sounded harsh on himself, but it was the truth. No one around him saw anything different in the people nearby. But then again, nobody was every truly average, he supposed. He thought of Mikey, the kid from the other day. Anyone else would write him off as a poor child, and they'd probably assume he was some thief, desperate to survive. Heck, even Leo had wondered if he would try to steal from him. And then Leo got to know the kid, and he was pretty nice. He even tried to decline when Leo offered him money to keep himself alive.

He was a neat kid, Leo mused as he bumped into some African-American guy in a pink sweater. He definitely wouldn't mind grabbing a pizza with him sometime, but he couldn't say what would happen if his dad found out he was hanging out with a homeless boy.

'_Maybe I'll visit Mikey again,_' Leo decided, darting through the crosswalk to the other side of the street. '_I feel like some company._' If the kid wasn't there today, He'd just walk the extra block to drop off the book.

As Leo got closer to where he met Mikey yesterday, the sounds of yelling and a cry of "ya little freak" reached his ears. Leo furrowed his brow, picking up his pace. By the time he rounded the corner, he had broken into a sprint, and now he skidded to a halt. Mikey was in the center of a ring of boys who definitely didn't look like good news. Every time Mikey got close to the edge of the ring, one of the boys would shove him forward, back towards who Leo assumed to be their crew leader. His eyes went wide with shock when he recognized the redhead from the gym, and Leo ran over, jostling the loop of boys out of the way to get to Mikey. The redheaded teen had him by his shirt collar, hauling the blonde up to glare at him.

"Listen, you, jus' gimme dat back, an' I promise ya won't get pounded into da dirt. Sound good?" The leader threatened, snarling.

Mikey just swallowed and tried to squirm out of his grasp, to no avail. "I swear I didn't take it!" He cried, kicking his feet pathetically. "Just-just put me down! Please!? I-I'll make it up to you! I swear!"

"Ya can make it up ta me now! Ya street trash, ya could'a escaped a beat down, but noooo…" The teen pulled back a fist, ready to strike.

"Stop!"

The redhead turned to see Leo, who had just pushed passed the others. Mutterings of "This ain't your business," and "stay out of it, pretty boy," were hissed from the troop, who didn't dare mess with their leader's 'justice'. Mikey whimpered pitifully, cracking open an eyelid to look at Leo hopefully. The desperation in his eyes made Leo's jaw clench, and his hands curled into fists.

"Put him down."

The strongly built redhead turned, narrowing his eyes when they met Leo's frame. "This doesn't concern you. 'Sides, this trash-for-brains stole something of mine!"

Leo's gaze flicked briefly to Mikey, look plainly asking if what the redhead said was true. Mikey shook his head, although a little too fast. Leo figured it was because he was still dangling above the ground. Leo glared at the other teen, harder.

"Put. Him. Down."

The wind seemed to speed up with Leo's determined command, whipping his black hair violently. Growling, the leader tossed Mikey to the side none-too-gently, his posse keeping the homeless boy in the circle. He stalked closer to Leo, hands balled into fists. "As you command, oh fearless leader," He mocked. "I simply must tremble in your presence! Listen close, 'cause I don't wanna repeat myself," He jabbed Leo in the chest, roughly, and scowled when he hardly moved. "You don't tell me what to do. Got it?"

The street had all but emptied now, the few people still around casting wary glances at the assembled group before turning down different streets. The sky, as though sensing the imminent conflict, was darkening to a stormy purple, and the wind picked up to blow the trash along the sidewalk like a tumbleweed before a showdown.

A few of the redhead's crew were shifting nervously, casting worried glances at the howling sky. One broke the circle, running off to escape what would soon be some nasty weather. '_Odd,_' Leo thought. '_The weather was supposed to be fine today…_'

"Raph!" One of the boys said from behind the leader. "Looks like we're gonna get a storm soon. C'mon, let's head back. They ain't worth it!"

He turned and snarled at the one who spoke up. "You buncha' wusses can run back home to mommy, I ain't leavin' until the kid pays for stealin'!" He cracked his knuckles, and Leo wondered how this boy, shorter than Leo and just barely taller than Mikey, could seem so determinedly threatening. He braced himself, ready for a fight. In addition to being a kendo player, he was pretty skilled at martial arts, too. And now was the time where that kind of skill came in handy.

The leader swung, not caring that the few boys left were edging away from his chance of revenge. Leo saw his fist coming towards his face, and ducked beneath it, grabbing the redhead's wrist and using his momentum to throw him onto his back with an "oomph" sound. Leo stepped back as he got to his feet, fixing him with a look that screamed Leo's funeral.

"Ya done it now, pretty boy!" He snarled baring his teeth as he charged him.

Vaguely, Leo remembered Mikey standing behind him and he did his best to move away from where he assumed the kid was. He sidestepped the rampaging ball of anger, looking over his shoulder to see that Mikey was being pulled out of range by a brown haired boy in glasses. From the looks of it, Mikey was insisting he stay, and Leo his turned attention back to the fight, dodging another blow.

"Get back and fight!" The redhead roared against the whipping wind, squinting to shield his eyes. Even Leo was beginning to feel the wind choking him. He backed up to where Mikey and the other boy were, raising his arms to protect his face. The rumbling sound of thunder met their ears, and a flash of blue-green electricity descended upon the city.

"Uh, now's probably not the time to mention this, but isn't lightning supposed to strike before the thunder!?" The brunette shouted, holding onto his glasses.

"We need to get out of this storm!" Leo called, looking around for a shelter. It was difficult to see three feet in front of him, and if they stayed out any longer…

"Way ahead of you, dude!" Mikey's voice called, and Leo turned to see him pointing at an underground subway station that had been closed down a few weeks ago. Already, he and the other boy were fighting against the wind, grabbing onto the railing as they made their way down the steps. Perfect! Leo took a step forward, only to stop and look back at where the redhead was struggling to get to him. Leo sighed. Stupid hero's complex.

In an instant, Leo was at the gang leader's side, hauling him to his feet.

"What're ya…?" The redhead asked, fixing Leo with a curious look in his green eyes.

Leo choked back the wind, screaming over the howling storm and a slap of thunder. "When I give the word, step forward, okay?"

"You ain't the boss of me!" The other boy hissed.

Nevertheless, he stepped in the direction of the subway when Leo shouted "Go!" They marched forward like this repeatedly, the combined effort of their footsteps at the same time pushing them forward. It seemed like it took an hour, (although in reality it couldn't have been more than a few minutes) but they finally reached the bottom of the steps, diving into the run-down space of the old station.

Leo moved behind the stairs to avoid the wind that was still lashing into the underground space, ignoring the redhead who was following behind him. It seemed like all his earlier fight left his body, and Leo figured it was from having to fight against that storm. Even he was tired, and he could perform multiple sets of _katas_ with little effort.

Mikey and the brunette were slumped in the corner behind the wall, sharing a jacket to guard against the chill. Instantly, Mikey's blue eyes lit up when he saw Leo, jumping up and practically sending the other boy sprawling on the floor. He threw his arms around Leo's middle, hugging him tight.

"Leo! My big bro's okay!" Leo laughed a little, trying to pry the blonde's fingers off of him.

"Okay, okay, you can let go now!" Mikey let go with a sheepish smile, dancing back a few steps as the brunette stepped up next to him. Leo glanced over at him

"Thanks for getting Mikey out of there," He said with a smile. "I'm Leo."

"My name's Donatello, but everybody calls me Donnie," He said, nodding. "And we got lucky. I've never seen a storm as... unusual that before! What kind of idiots were you guys, to start a fight in the middle of something like that?"

Leo winced a little, figuring that it was one of the dumber moments in his life. "Not smart, was it?"

"Nope."

Leo laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes widened when he saw the redhead jump into the lowered area for the subway over Donnie's shoulder.

"Hey, wait! I don't think we're supposed to-"

"Relax, fearless!" The redhead called, waving him off without looking back. "Dis station's been closed for a while! No way dey kept the power on, so why not explore a bit? We'll be stuck here a while, anyway!"

Leo looked at his retreating back with a look that could only be described as irritation. "You don't know what's down there!"

"All the more reason to explore!"

Leo sighed, turning to Donnie and Mikey. "Should we go after him?"

Donnie nodded. "Oh yeah, definitely. Before the hot head gets himself killed."

They stepped down onto the rails after him, carefully avoiding the bar that would normally be active. Trash littered the dimly lit space, and graffiti coated the walls of the tunnel, saying things like "Jones is everywhere" or "Beware the dogs". One in particular caught Leo's eye, a crude drawing of a turtle with a hastily-scribbled signature of-

"'Mikey'…"

The blonde froze and turned, a sheepishly innocent expression on his face. "Yeessss, Leo?"

"You know that can be considered vandalism, right?" He said, pointing at the sketch.

"Aww, come on Leo, its just chalk! Oof!"

He ran into Donnie, who had stopped to look around. "Do you guys… do you feel that?"

Leo paused, senses alert for whatever Donnie was trying to describe. He could hear a faint dripping sound, which seemed to come from beneath him. Probably a sewer pipe. Other than that he felt-

Wait… he could feel something. Sort of like rocks being scraped up his back, but… less painful and tinglier. "Yeah, I feel it."

"Whoa…" Mikey exclaimed. "That is one wicked feeling, man! It's like floating on feather pillows!" He made a face that made Leo nearly laugh.

"What?" Donnie said, casting a confused glance over his shoulder. "No, not that feeling, the one that feels like a prickling along your skin. Wait, are you guys telling me you're feeling something different?"

"No, duh Donnie." The hot head in the lead said sarcastically, scowling at the others. "I don't think pillows and prickling sensations are similar."

Donatello narrowed his brown eyes at him, as though looking at him through a microscope. "You're feeling something too, aren't you?"

He scoffed, looking irritated. "No, I think you guys are just scared. Now come on, let's keep-"

In a split second, a rumbling filled the tunnel, and parts of the ground fell away under their feet. Four bodies tumbled into the shadows beneath them, a cry of "Earthquake!" filling the air as they slipped into the unknown.

Leo just hoped this wasn't the end.

**..::-::..**

The aged being paced in its darkened room, a sharp twinge having pulled it from meditation. That twinge signified the moment the Great Mutation's chosen ones were united. Now, it felt a tugging in the pit of his stomach, a sign that the Mutation has accepted them. It knew what to do now. It grabbed a paper lantern from a hook, slipping into the tunnels to follow where the Mutation had summoned it.

It could only hope that whoever was chosen had survived.


	3. Chapter 3

Leo hauled himself out of the water and onto a concrete bank, gasping for air. He was trembling, pushed up on his hands and knees as he coughed up the liquid he inhaled.

'_Breathe, Leo breathe,_' he commanded himself. '_Just like sensei Tsuyoi taught you… Great, six fingers. I'm hallucinating._'

He squinted down at his hands, willing himself to see clearly. When he still couldn't see more than three fingers on each hand, he sighed, flopping down to rest on his stomach. The feeling he had felt in the tunnel had evaporated now, replaced by a skull-splitting headache. His body felt numb and cold and he just wanted to curl up and take a nap…

He snapped his eyes open at the thought, sitting up quickly. Taking a nap after nearly drowning sounded like a free pass to death, and Leo stood on shaky legs. He needed to find the others, get out of here and get help.

How did he get down here anyways? He remembered an earthquake and a crack splitting open between the rails, but a cursory study of the ceiling showed no scars or flaws. Just the dull, curved roof of what seemed to be a large sewer tunnel. '_Actually,_' Leo thought with a slight smile. '_It's more like an underground lake._' He must have drifted downstream from where he fell, and Leo was just grateful the water looked clear, if a little… glowy.

Eyeing the sidewalk-like edges of the tunnel, Leo decided that they were his best bet out of this place. He stretched his legs and then his arms, trying to get feeling back into his limbs. However, when he tried flexing an arm over his back, something blocked the complete movement of his shoulder blade. Leo frowned, rolling his shoulder again slowly. Once more, he felt a slight resistance of something firm against his arm.

Leo twisted, trying to see what he kept bumping into. He spun in circles, chasing whatever it was like a dog chasing his tail and a cold feeling of dread settled in his chest. No matter what, it was stuck on his back, and all the feeling he managed to get was telling him it's staying for good.

Leo stopped trying to grab at it, focusing on breathing evenly. So far, it was proving to be a very difficult task to keep from panicking. He just had to know what it was. Carefully, Leo reached behind himself, ignoring that faint tug on his shoulder. He brushed his fingertips along his back, inspecting the object.

It was a curved shape, but not too bulky as to constrict movement, and it felt vaguely like there was a ridge surrounding it. The inner surface felt much like a puzzle of hexagons, each connecting to form the convex material. It felt firm and solid, too. Leo bit his tongue, a memory of one of his teacher's class pets surfacing in his mind. It felt like a-

The sound of violent splashing and a sputtering sound snapped Leo out of his confusion, and he jerked around to look at the water's edge. A hand had thrust from the water, grasping at the concrete ledge. A head followed, appearing as a faint smudge in the weak lighting.

Leo rushed over, grabbing the wrist to haul the person from the water. He was sure it had to be one of the others; Leo doubted that there would be anyone else swimming down here, let alone voluntarily. Another hand snaked from the water, taking hold of his free hand, and Leo pulled him onto the concrete with a grunt of effort. He sat on the ground with an exhausted sigh a few feet away from his rescued companion. Whichever one of the boys he pulled out needed to lose some weight!

"You okay?" Leo asked when he caught his breath.

The other boy hissed, pulling into a sitting position.

"Think so… Just a little- What de heck!?"

The other boy, whose voice sounded like the redhead's, scrambled backwards into a shaft of pale light, pointing a shaky finger at Leo. Leo had jumped back in surprise, turning around quickly, trying to see what he was pointing at. A look of startled confusion crossed his face, and he looked back at the hothead with a look of worry.

He wasn't pointing at something behind Leo.

He was pointing at Leo.

Leo swallowed, slowly raising his shaking hands to inspect them. Slowly, he moved them into a small beam of dusty light. What he saw nearly made him choke.

His hands were green, and still had only three fingers. He reached up to touch his face, shock freezing his expression. He had no nose or ears, but he could still hear and smell. Looking over his body even more, Leo could see a firm-but-flexible, golden plate running across his front beneath his shirt. This… this was not normal. Leo was now truly and utterly afraid.

"What de heck are ya!?" The other boy shouted, and Leo nearly jumped out of his ivy skin. If the water was what had caused this, then…

He peered closer at the other boy, alarmed curiosity nipping at his mind. Now that he was in the light, Leo could see that the other's skin was a deep emerald, with the same features Leo noted on himself. Three fingers, tan plates, and a…

…shell.

"What are we?" Leo whispered in horror. The other boy looked down at himself fearfully, flinching in fear and hugging his chest when he saw that he too was no longer… human.

"What de heck happened to us!? We're… we're…"

"Turtles."

**..::-::..**

"Incredible!" Donnie said in awe, raising an olive arm to inspect the muscles that rippled beneath the skin. He had no idea what happened to make him, well, mutate like this. In fact, he hadn't even realized that he had changed until he pulled himself from the sewer water onto a jutting pipe thick enough to rest comfortably on.

"Strangely numb," Don muttered to himself, poking and prodding at his new body, "but amazing! Unless this isn't my body…" He tapped a finger against his front teeth, seeking out that tooth gap that he was always so embarrassed about. He used to get teased about it endlessly in middle school, and since then he had carefully hidden his toothy smiles to avoid further embarrassment.

He still had it in this form, apparently, which made him relieved and self-conscious at the same time. So he didn't somehow switch bodies with another creature, but instead his body was transmuted into a terrapin-humanoid. Donnie let out a quiet laugh, wondering if he was dreaming. Dreams could be vivid, but Donnie doubted they could this accurate. Plus, he had already pulled the pinch test, and even with his muted senses he had let out a whimper of pain.

The scientist in Donnie was itching to break through and rattle off numerous theories and tests, and he probably would have launched into a rant with himself if he didn't at least have some of his sanity.

'_Right now,_' he thought logically, '_I need to find Leo, Mikey and that other guy, see if they changed, too. I can move on from there, find out if this is linked with that earthquake, or something else entirely._'

He slid off of the pipeline into the knee-deep water, glad that it didn't look too putrid. This area was probably reserved for the storm drains. If he kept moving, there should be an exit somewhere ahead. He just hoped that the others weren't in any kind of trouble.

'_But then again,_' Donnie thought as he looked at the traces of a glowing green substance floating downstream. '_Maybe I should first find the source._'

So upstream it was.

**..::-::..**

"What da heck happened to us?" Leo's companion asked, his voice not yet rid of his panic. For a guy who had been so confident and arrogant just two hours ago, according to Leo's still-living wristwatch, he sure could revert to a frightened child pretty quickly. "Please tell me we ain't gonna stay like dis, man!"

"I don't know, okay." Leo sighed, exasperated as they walked down the sewer halls. This wasn't the first complaint the other made, and Leo could only wish it was the last. He couldn't focus on his fears at the same time he was trying to find a way out. "Look, let's just keep moving. The sooner we get out of here, the better off I'll feel." '_And the further away I'll be from you,_' he mentally added.

The other growled, grabbing Leo's shoulder. He was almost able to stifle his surprised expression at the different anatomy this time. Almost.

"And den what? We walk the streets of New York an' just hope that we'll change back like some pretty fairy tale? Oh, no, Fearless, it ain't dat simple!"

Leo huffed, tugging his arm away. "Would you stop calling me that? My name is Leo." He turned to face him, crossing his arms over his… chest? Plastron? Breastplate? "And I don't suppose that after all that happened that you would be interested in sharing your name? Or do you just want to be called 'hothead'?"

He snorted, balling his hands into fists. "Fine, Leo," He spat. "Call me whatever de heck you want! As soon as I'm back ta normal, I don't hafta look at yer ugly mug anymore, and I'll be just another memory." He faltered a moment, confident mask slipping a little. "But… we don't have any idea how to reverse this, do we?" Leo's expression softened at his downbeat realization. The other boy invisibly shook off his depression, snarling as he pushed past Leonardo. "Jus' call me Raph, then. But don't think for a second that we're gonna be best buddies, or I'll crush your skull against the pavement!"

Leo smiled a little at that, walking in step behind him. "Raph, huh? That's an odd name…"

Raph growled in frustration. "It's short for Raphael, okay? Go ahead, make fun of me. I wanna see how well ya can function without a brain."

"No, no! It's cool!" Leo said, struggling to keep from laughing at Raph's defensiveness. "My name's short for Leonardo, after all."

"Deserve a medal for that, do ya?" They were walking side-by-side now, the walkway just wide enough for the both of them.

"No, just welcoming you into the fools-with-long-names club." Leo joked. He could see Raph was beginning to relax around him.

They turned into a side tunnel Leo pointed out and kept walking in silence. It felt like an hour had gone by before Raph spoke again.

"So… what are we gonna do about dis?" He asked, gesturing towards their changed bodies with an unsure expression. Leo felt his look waver, and he faltered in his steps.

"Honestly… I don't know."

Raph looked hopefully at him. "But dere's gotta be a way to reverse dis, right? We can't stay like this forever… and I'm hungry. What if I can't eat what I normally do?"

"I'm sure we'll figure something out…" Leo said after a moment. "But if we can't-"

He was interrupted by a shrill shout echoing through the tunnels.

"Dudes, Bros… Anyone!? HELP!"

Leo broke into a run, trying to follow the yells. "That sounds like Mikey!" He gasped, putting on speed. To his relief, Raph was running beside him. Leo shot him a curious glance, and he shrugged.

"I ain't got anyone else to help me."

Leo nodded, turning to the left to follow the noises. He skidded to a stop, Raphael bumping into him and nearly sending him toppling. He had nearly run right off the edge of a platform into muddy water that seemed too far down to be safe. If he had fallen, it probably would've hurt like hitting concrete- if he would've even survived.

He scanned the area quickly, blue eyes spotting a squirming green spot clinging to a collapsing rusted ledge.

Mikey, Leo realized with a start. He had changed into a turtle too.

"Hold on!" He called over, backing up for a running start. If he was careful, he could just jump up next to him.

"Leo?" Mikey asked hopefully. "That you, dude?"

He broke into a sprint, kicking off the platform just as his toes met the edge. '_Come on, come on,_' Leo thought urgently. '_Just let me make it!_'

He landed on the ledge, quickly pulling Mikey to his feet just as a brace fell into the water. Only two beams were still supporting their weight, and they probably wouldn't last much longer. Leo turned to Mikey, looking into his wide blue eyes with urgency.

"Think you can hop over to that platform?" He asked, and Michelangelo nodded. "Then go!" Leo said, leaping across just as the last bolts came undone. Leo landed safely on the other side, but Mikey was not as fortunate.

He had jumped a moment too late, and his fingers just brushed the secure protrusion before he slipped, falling with a scream towards the filthy liquid below.

An emerald hand snapped out, snagging his wrist just before he tumbled out of reach. Looking down, Mikey saw the platform he had been standing on hit the water with an angry splash, and relief washed over him. He glanced up, smiling at his rescuer who was pulling him onto the ledge with a grunt of effort.

"I gotcha!" Raph said, hauling him up.

As soon as his feet were on the ground, Mikey shot up and pulled Raph into a tight hug, smiling widely.

"Dude… you saved me!" He squeezed just a little too tightly, and Raph nearly choked, struggling out of his firm grip.

"Alright, alright, I get it kid! Sheesh!" He grumbled, though Leo could see a ghost of a smile on his face.

"You…" Mikey sniffed, grinning up at him with watery blue eyes. "You're my hero!" He reached into the pocket of his sweat pants, yanking out a soggy wad of colorful paper. "I want you to have this back, as a reward!" He handed the paper to Raph, who took it with a look of confusion.

"Dis is…" His eyes lit up with a fury, and Leo stepped backwards fearfully. "You little rat! I knew you stole my comic book!" He grabbed Mikey by his hoodie front, practically on fire with rage. Mikey didn't seem to get that he should be scared for his life.

"Hey, man, it's still in mint-er, near-mint condition!"

"So that's what you stole!" Leo said, fixing Mikey with a disappointed stare. "And I stood up for you!"

Mikey snickered, dancing out of Raph's grip. "Hey I gave it back, didn't I? And besides, I don't need comic books anymore! Look at me now! I can be a superhero! Just call me, uh… Turtle Titan!"

Leo held Raph back from charging at Mikey and shot him a look. "Mikey, we don't even know if we'll stay like this or not. Right now, we need to find a way out."

"Aww…" Mikey groaned, deflating a little. "Leo, you're no fun…"

"Now's not the time for fun," Leo scolded as he turned back into the tunnel they came out of. "We need to find Donnie. If the three of us got mixed into this, chances are that Donnie did too."

"How do we know Don hasn't already found his way out yet?" Raph asked, glaring at Mikey over Leo's shoulder.

"'Cause Don-Don's probably trying to figure out how we changed." Mikey answered as he skipped alongside Leo. Leo and Raph halted, looking at the freckled turtle with a look of startled realization. They shared a look, and Mikey paused, wondering if he said something wrong.

"Uh, Mikey," Leo asked curiously. "Why would Donnie be looking for what changed us? Wouldn't he be more focused with, I don't know, getting out?"

Mikey shifted innocently. "Donnie liked using big words, and he was all mister-smart-guy, so I just figured… Did I say something wrong?"

"Actually, you might be right on de mark with dat one." Raph said, stunned, and Mikey beamed. "But don't dink dat 'cause you can come up with a good idea means yer off the hook for ruining my comic book!"

"Didn't think so, bro."

Leo paused, inspecting the water the tunnels were transporting. They stood back in what Leo assumed was the central pipeline, where he and Raph had been following upstream. "We floated downstream, right? That means we fell in the water further up…"

"So Donnie's headed there, too."

Leo nodded. "Let's go."

**..::-::..**

Honestly, Leo was amazed Raph and Mikey didn't harass one another in more than just insults. Raph seemed to get that Mikey was just goofing off, and his habit of smacking the smaller turtle became more of a teasing action than a spiteful one. Of course, Leo still had to step in when one got too harsh for the other.

They had been walking for almost twenty minutes when Leo began to notice the difference in the water. Thin, flimsy strands of iridescent aqua flicked through the stream, and the further they went the more there was. Leo suddenly stopped at the entrance to another pipeline. This was where that glowing stuff was coming from, and judging by how thick it was here, the source was just through that tunnel.

Leo looked over his shoulder. "Stay on the pathway guys. If this is the gunk that turned us green, who knows what more of it would do to us."

They nodded, although Leo didn't trust that glimmer of mischievousness in Mikey's eyes.

It was really a short tunnel, but what was at the end of it made Leo gape in shock.

"Whoooaahhh…"

They stepped out onto an island of spongy moss, incredibly soft and bouncy beneath their feet. A turquoise tree grew in the middle of the space, shedding shimmery leaves into a little lake of aqua-black liquid. Up above, where the ceiling would have been, was a crumbled hole that looked like it led into a subway station.

"So that's where we fell…" Leo muttered.

"Hey, guys!"

The trio turned when they were met with Donnie's voice, and they saw him running out from behind the odd tree. He fell victim to the transformation, too, it seemed. He still had his lanky height, but Leo could see flecks of red in his brown eyes that didn't exist before. He stopped before the group, studying them with a scientist's gaze, and Leo saw a gap between his two front teeth that he hadn't noticed until now.

"Fascinating…" The olive turtle mumbled. "I thought I couldn't be the only one affected, but the fact that our changes are so… so similar, it's astounding in and of itself! The chances of this happening are probably, like-"

"Will you shut up?" Raph grunted, obviously not liking being looked at as though under a microscope.

"Be nice, Raph." Leo chided. He turned back to Donatello. "I'm guessing you figured out what this stuff is?"

He shook his head, eyes glazed over as he ran equations and possibilities through his mind. "Not even close. All I've figured out is that that's the stuff that changed us. I think it's some sort of mutagenic fluid, but it doesn't even look like it's composed of earthly elements! It's almost like its alien!"

Mikey perked up. "Alien!? Cool! Like, are we talking about slimy monsters with robot bodies and laser guns that are here to take over the earth and have converted us to make us weapons or-"

"Not that kind of alien!" Donnie interrupted. "What I mean is, it could be some form of bonding agent to combine genetic building blocks into a new hybrid species. It may have come from alien origins, outer space, even, but I seriously doubt it has anything to do with actual aliens."

Mikey looked dazed, and Leo guessed he was still stuck on "bonding agent". "Jeez, Donnie, didja kill off his few brain cells or somethin'?" Raph asked, poking Mikey in the head.

"Huh? Oh, he'll be fine," Donnie said absently, scratching his head. "I'm just wondering how we discovered this and no one else has. I mean, wouldn't someone else have found this pool sooner? Things just aren't adding up…"

"Perhaps that is because it is not meant to make sense, but to defy it."

The four boys turned in surprise to see a figure step through the pipeline, tall and imposing. It wore a maroon robe that dusted against the little island's grass, and a tail swept out behind it. They gaped up at the biggest and most humanoid rodent they had ever seen.

"Perhaps an explanation would ease your minds. My name is Splinter."


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay here is the start of my chapters! Please let me know what you guys think! I appreciate it and it just makes me feel good! :D Updates will be pretty regular about every week or so. :D Enjoy! P.S. It is told in Japanese lore that the Turtle help create the world for it's body represents it. The shell is Heaven, the body is Earth and the Plastron is the underworld. Cool huh? :D **

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><p>Leo stared at the giant rat as it placed a jade cane in front of it and placed a paper lantern on the ground lighting up the area around them. "I am sure you have many questions, but first I would like to know your names." It said calmly.<p>

They were all silent for a few seconds before Mikey spoke up, "I'm Michelangelo, but you can call me Mikey!" He said happily.

"My name is Donatello." Donnie said somewhat shyly.

"I'm Leonardo." Leo said and the rat, Splinter, nodded to him before everyone looked over to Raph.

Raph glared at him for a second before crossing his arms, "Raphael." He said simply.

Splinter bowed to them slightly, "It is an honor to meet you four at last."

"At last?" Leo said catching on to what he said. "What do you mean?"

"Come let us sit. The story is a long one." Splinter said gesturing to the soft ground of the little island. They all sat down tentatively as Splinter sat as well placing his cane to the side. "I have been waiting for the four of you for some time now as was prophesized about the Great Mutation."

"The what?" Donnie asked thoroughly confused as were they all.

"Perhaps it would be best to begin at the beginning." Splinter said with a slight smile. "Long ago in 300 A.D. on the island of Japan a great demon arose terrorizing the people and destroying everything in its path. The demon called itself The Shredder. Its powers of darkness were so great that no one could stop it. The Emperor called the most skilled fighter in all of Japan to his side and asked him to defeat the demon Shredder. The man agreed and fought the demon. However he quickly lost. The man was a skilled fighter, but the demon attacked not only on the physical plane, but on the spiritual plane as well. But the man refused to give up. He knew that if he failed the entire world would fall and billions of innocent lives would be lost for nothing."

"Nearby in a small pool was a lowly _kame_, a turtle. He saw the battle and how the warrior was faring and knew he would not win alone. When the demon Shredder struck the warrior, he was sent to the turtle's pool. '_Warrior._' The turtle said, '_You cannot win this battle alone._' '_What am I to do?_' The warrior replied. '_I cannot give in and let this evil destroy the world and the innocents within it._' '_Then do not allow it._' The turtle replied, '_I have seen the sun and moon rise and fall many times over my life and I know many things. I know that there cannot be light without the darkness, but I also know there cannot be darkness without light. If this demon succeeds he will bring only darkness and the world needs light. I helped create this world I will not allow it to fall._' '_What do you wish of me?_' The warrior asked. '_Allow me to help you defeat this demon._' The turtle answered. '_I will show you how to fight him on the spiritual level as well as the physical._'"

"The warrior nodded and allowed the turtle to join him in spirit and body. Together they were able to defeat the demon Shredder and save the world. However the turtle gave the warrior a terrifying vision of the future. The warrior saw that the demon Shredder would rise once more, but the turtle granted him some hope. In another vision he saw the Great Mutation. The day when a chosen few that would save the world once more, would meet and accept the task that had been laid out for them. So the warrior passed down the knowledge that the turtle had granted him in the hopes that when the day came for the demon Shredder to rise again he would be defeated once and for all."

They were all silent for a while before Mikey spoke, "Dude! That was awesome! You are a way boss story teller, man!"

Splinter smiled at him, "Thank you Michelangelo."

"That was a good story, but that still doesn't explain why we're now turtles as well." Donnie said getting Leo to nod.

"You four have been chosen." Splinter answered, "The evil is rising once more."

"What?!" They all cried.

Raph then glared at Splinter, "Hold on a sec." He snapped, "You expect us ta believe dat some ancient evil is comin' back an' we're da ones dat gotta stop it?!"

"Yes." Splinter said simply, nodding. Not thrown off by Raph's abrasiveness.

Raph glared at him, "An' how da heck we suppose' ta do dat!? Wiggle our now non-existent pinkies!?"

"Perhaps it would be best to simply show you." Splinter said before standing. They all joined him when suddenly Splinter started attacking Raph! Leo was about ready to jump in to help him, but stopped when he saw Raph was holding his own. Splinter was throwing punches and jabs his way, but Raph was blocking each one. Then all at once Raph's fist shot out and Splinter caught it ending the fight.

Leo looked at Splinter who was smirking and at Raph who was totally and completely confused. "How… what… I…" Raph stuttered not understanding what was happening as Splinter let him go and took a step back.

"Dude!" Mikey cried looking at Raph with shinning admiration in his eyes, "How did you do that!? It was awesome!"

Raph looked over at him still in shock before looking at Splinter, "I don't know. I've no idea where dat came from."

"The abilities given to you in this form are more than just strength. You have the abilities of the ancients. Your ancestors, the warrior and the turtle channeling through you. The ancient ways of Bushido. The ways of Ninjutsu." Leo's eyes widened. That was so cool! "I too am part of the Great Mutation." Splinter went on, "All was revealed to me. The events of the past and the future and I was chosen as your guardian and sensei. Your teacher on the matter and to prepare you for the coming battle."

"I still don't understand how we were mutated." Donnie said again drawing the focus.

"Here at this pool is where I was given the knowledge. This place is called the _Chishiki no Pūru_. The Pool of Knowledge and this is the _Nenrei No Ki_. The Tree of Ages." They all looked at the little island they were standing on and Leo felt something in him stir. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mikey and Donnie shudder while Raph randomly scowled and crossed his arms. Was everyone else feeling something too? "This place is ancient and has traveled the world to find you here. For you see the place where the brave turtle gave his life was here at this very pool."

Leo's eyes widened in shock and again he looked around at the tree and the pool surrounding them. If this was true it was amazing! But that was impossible, right?

"Wait a minute." Donnie said, "Trees and pools can't just get up and walk wherever they'd like. That's impossible."

"It is not." Splinter argued shaking his head once, "The ancients knew that one day you all would have need of this place and so they allowed it to come to you."

"Allowed it to come to us?" Donnie echoed, "You mean like its sentient… alive?" He asked skeptically.

Splinter smirked, "Everything is alive, Donatello. Even the rock at which the ocean beats against."

"Okay…" Donnie said looking towards Leo, clearly not understanding.

"I have a question." Mikey said raising his hand, "Are we going to be turtles forever 'cause I'm totally cool with that, but it makes getting a costume for this new super hero status kind of hard."

"Forget da costume. How de heck are we suppose' ta do anythin'?" Raph asked crossing his arms. "We'll be the new freaks in town!"

"You are able to change back into your human forms." Splinter answered, "You simply need to concentrate and focus your energy. Your Chi energy to the center of your being and you will be able to revert back."

"You can't be serious?" Raph said looking at Splinter like he was crazy.

"I am very serious, Raphael." Splinter answered somewhat sternly. "If you wish to change back you must focus."

Leo closed his eyes and thought he'd give it a shot. He tried to do what the rat was telling him to do. '_Focus._' He thought, '_Focus on breathing. Focus on being human again._' Then Leo felt something in the center of him and at once he knew it was his core. He felt it pulse and focused on that feeling as he tried to channel it through him. He felt it encompass him and he felt something change. Then it was gone and Leo slowly opened his eyes to see everyone staring at him with slack jaws. Splinter was smiling at him.

"Well done Leonardo." He said with praise.

"Dude!" Mikey cried making him look over at him, "You were glowing blue slashes all over your body! It was wicked!"

Leo stared at him, "I was?" He questioned.

Mikey nodded enthusiastically. "And that's not all." Donnie added, "You're human again."

"What?!" Leo cried before looking at himself. He indeed saw five fingers, white skin, and he didn't feel his shell anymore. Leo looked to Splinter for an explanation.

Splinter smiled at him, "What you call the 'glowing blue slashes' Michelangelo, is actually Leonardo's Chi energy manifesting itself physically."

"Huh?" Mikey asked confused.

"He means you can see it." Donnie clarified.

"Ooooh." Mikey said before smiling, "My turn!" He then closed his eyes tightly and for a few seconds nothing happened, but then Mikey started to glow orange swirls all over his body! He then began to change back into a human. When his change was complete he opened his eyes slowly then looked down at his hands and gave a cheer. "Boom baby!"

Splinter smiled at him, "Well done Michelangelo."

"Did I glow too?!" He asked excitedly.

Leo smiled at him and nodded, "Yep. Orange swirls."

"Sweet." Mikey smiled.

"I'll give it a shot." Donnie said, "After all science is all about testing hypotheses." Donnie then closed his eyes and just like Mikey a few seconds in, he started to glow too. Only Donnie was glowing purple stripes all over his body.

When he came out of it he looked at his body and smiled a gap tooth grin, "Fascinating."

"Well done Donatello." Splinter said smiling at him as well.

"Donnie dude, you were glowing purple stripes!" Mikey shared.

"Thanks Mikey." Donnie said indulging him and Mikey nodded. They all then looked over to Raph.

He glared at them, "What?!" He snapped.

Leo smirked ever so slightly, "You want to be human again you have to try it."

Raph glowered at him, but said nothing as he closed his eyes. The hot head took a little longer, but eventually he too began to glow red flames all over his body and when he stopped he too was human.

Raph looked at his hand and himself before a ghost of a smile appeared on his face and he looked towards Splinter who nodded and smiled at him, "Well done Raphael."

"Bro, yours was like red flames." Mikey supplied and Raph nodded probably thinking it was cool.

"You all have done very well, but I must warn you that while you still have very little control over your Chi energy, you will revert back into your turtle forms if you allow your emotions to control you." Splinter said drawing them back. "However I will teach you to control your Chi energy and over time you will be able to change forms with but a thought. That is one of the many things I will teach you."

"What if we don't wanna?" Raph said asking the question they all wanted to know. "What if we jus' want are lives back?"

Splinter paused for a long moment and the silence stretched on before he took a deep breath and looked back at them. "You four have been chosen. Chosen by the ancients to protect and save the world from an evil that has been lying in wait for 2 millennia. However, you always have a choice. You may choose to continue to live your lives as you see fit or choose to follow the prophecy. Whichever you decide it is your decision to make and yours alone. But know this, every choice you make has a consequence. And if you choose to ignore this calling, will you be able to live with the consequences of it?"

Leo stared at the rat in slight amazement. He knew this was serious, but he didn't really understand till now. He didn't want to world to end, but he really just wanted to live his own life. Right now Leo had no idea what to choose and looking around neither did the others.

Splinter then stood and looked over at something then back at them, "It is now 4:00 P.M. Go home and think about what I have said. Come back here tomorrow at this time with your decision." With that Splinter turned and left them disappearing into the dark.


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright Team, I decided to update tonight instead of tomorrow, but meh, I don't think you guys will mind too terribly much! ;) This story is turning out to be pretty long and is pretty much writing itself. I'm loving it! Anywho enjoy this chapter and please if you're reading this story, let me know what you think. Reviews make my day and give me inspiration!**

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><p>Leo sighed and flopped onto his bed. He couldn't believe what his life had unexpectedly turned into. He and three other boys he had only just met were supposed to work together to save the world from an ancient demon.<p>

And they were turtles.

Couldn't forget the turtle part if he tried.

Boy he hadn't figured his life would change so drastically. He remembered his thoughts earlier today, which felt like a million years ago, about feeling like he was just another face in the crowd. Now he wished he was back to plain old Leonardo. That he didn't have to worry about making a decision that literally held the world in balance. He was fifteen! He was supposed to worry about good grades, Kendo club and maybe a girlfriend. Man did those worries fly out the window!

And it was only a Tuesday!

Leo sighed again as he looked over to his clock on the bedside table. 6:47. He was so tired, but it was still early and he hadn't eaten. So he forced himself to his exhausted feet and grabbed his phone. A quick call later he was now waiting for his pizza to arrive. A thought then popped into his head and he grabbed his backpack that had miraculously survived the whole thing. It was still wet and when he opened it he pulled out sensei Tsuyoi's book. It was… really wet. Leo sighed and went to put the book on the coffee table. He then walked over to his father's office room and pulled out one of his mini fans. Walking back into the living room he plugged the fan in and placed it next to the book turning it on so the book would dry.

He really hoped sensei Tsuyoi wouldn't kill him. How was he going to explain getting it sopping wet? And why the heck was his life getting so complicated!?

His thoughts were cut short by the doorbell. Leo went to get his wallet and answered the door. "Hello. $10.50, please." The pizza guy said with a smile.

Leo sort of just wanted to punch him.

"Here ya go." He said handing the money over. The pizza guy thanked him and went on his way.

Leo turned the TV on glad to see his favorite show on. Space Heroes. As he excitedly watched the crew battle evil in the void, he could help, but think what would Captain Ryan do? He would save the world. '_But I'm not Captain Ryan._' He thought. What was _Leo_ going to do? If he chose to ignore what had happened and what Splinter had told them, he could have a somewhat normal life… at least until that demon Shredder came back and killed everyone.

But then, if he chose to accept what Splinter had said and worked to save the world, how the heck was he supposed to do that? He was just a teenager. How was he and three other teenagers supposed to defeat an ancient evil that was barely able to be defeated the first time?

Leo sighed and stopped eating. He suddenly wasn't all that hungry anymore. Standing he cleaned up his meager mess putting the rest of the pizza in the fridge then headed to his room. He was about to flop down onto his head when he remembered he had been swimming in water that had been glowing and was underground.

He probably needed a shower.

Pushing down his frustration and weariness he went to his bathroom and took one of the fastest showers he had ever taken. Now clean and thoroughly exhausted he plopped down on his bed and barely remembered to set his alarm for school before passing out.

**..::-::..**

A very annoying sound woke Leonardo from his sleep and he felt his eyes groggily open to see the time. 7:00. Leo felt like he had only just gone to sleep 5 minutes ago! Sighing Leo forced himself out of bed and got ready for school. He opted not to take a shower this morning because he showered last night so he made himself some toast and got ready. At 7:30 he was out the door and headed towards the bus stop. When he arrived at school he went straight to his locker to get his text books. On the way there however he bumped into someone, knocking their things onto the ground.

"Oh geez. I'm sorry." Leo apologized kneeling down to help pick up the scattered papers and books. "I'm really distracted today."

"That's okay, I am too." A very familiar voice said and Leo looked up to meet two red-brown eyes behind glasses and a mop of curly brown hair.

"Donnie?"

"Leo?"

"I didn't know you went here." Leo said standing and handing Donatello his things.

"I didn't know you went here either." Donnie supplied taking them.

There was an awkward silence between them where they both wanted to ask a certain question, but neither wanted to know the other's answer. "So where are you headed?" Leo asked breaking the silence.

"Collage science." Donnie answered simply. "You?"

"English."

Donnie and he both started walking towards their classes in silence. "So um…" Donnie began, "Have you had any um… problems?"

Leo looked at him not catching on to what he was asking. "Problems?"

"Um… you know with… three green fingers?" Donnie finished deflated.

Oh.

Leo shook his head, "No I'm… fine." He paused for a bit before he looked back at Donnie, "You?"

Donnie shook his head, "No I'm fine too." He answered with a somewhat relieved smile. "Weird to think that, that… happened."

"Yeah." Leo agreed and they were silent for a while.

"Well this is my stop." Donnie said as they came to a classroom.

Leo nodded and offered him a small smile, "Alright, I'll see you… around." He finished lamely. He was about to say see you later, but he didn't want to. He still didn't know what he was going to do.

Donnie looked at him and offered him a small smile as well, "See ya." He said before heading into the room. Leo then went on his way and headed to his first class.

The rest of the day Leo felt like he was just going through the motions of school. He managed to return sensei Tsuyoi's book with a pathetic explanation of 'he tripped and fell into a fountain'. Tsuyoi didn't seem that angry. Confused, but not angry and luckily let it drop. He didn't have Kendo today so after class Leo decided to just walk around New York. He forced himself not to think about the decision he was going to have to make. He didn't want to.

Leo decided to head to his favorite Pizza place. Antonio's Pizza. Conveniently located in Times Square. Leo took the bus to Times Square and once there walked to 44th street. There he saw thousands of people walking the streets. '_Will these people all survive the Shredder?_' Leo thought unbidden. '_Can I really help?_' Leo paused and shook his head, he didn't want to think about it. So instead he walked to Antonio's and pushed open the glass door. Hearing the small bell ring at his entry Leo walked up to the short line and waited. Finally it was his turn and he made his way to the counter.

"Oh! Leonardo! Welcome back!" The man Leonardo knew to be Antonio said with a welcoming grin. He was a kind Italian man who always made him smile. "What can I get you, huh?"

"Can I have a slice of cheese pizza please?" Leo asked.

Antonio chuckled, "Of course you can! You seem like you need one." He quickly handed Leo the slice and he took it, happily taking a bite of the delicious deep dish. "So what's the problem, eh?" Antonio asked softly, "You seem a little down, like there's somethin' on your mind. Tell old Antonio all about it."

Leo paused for a second. He didn't really have anyone to talk to at the moment and he trusted Antonio. "I just have a lot on my mind right now." He began, "And I have to make a decision by four o'clock today and I still don't know what to do."

Antonio smiled, "Why four? I'm sure you have more time to think it over."

Leo shook his head, "No. It has to be by four o'clock. It's… kind of a life or death situation." He said somewhat reluctantly.

Antonio nodded solemnly, "I see. What sort of life or death?" Leo looked away from him. He didn't want to tell him something he wouldn't believe and… he didn't want him to worry. "I see. Not something you can talk about, eh?" Antonio looked over to Leo and smiled reassuringly, "Leonardo," Leo looked back up at him, "I don't know what kind of situation you are in, but you should know that if you ever have the power to help someone, you should. Always chose life over death."

Leo's eyes slightly widened and at once he realized Antonio was right. All day long he was avoiding a decision that he had already made, but was too scared to admit it. He knew what the right decision was and he was going to follow it. He smiled up at the pizza man, "Thanks Antonio!" He turned to leave then paused, "How much do I owe you?"

Antonio waved him off with a kind smile, "It's on the house, now get out here."

Leo's smile grew, "Thanks Antonio!"

"You're welcome! And Leonardo, you be careful, eh?!"

"I will! Bye!" Leo cried before racing out the door.

**..::-::..**

Splinter sat on the little island waiting patiently for the four boys to return. He knew that they could leave and never return even if their answers were no, but somehow he knew that they would be back. To at least give him their answer if nothing else. When he was given the knowledge of the past and future he was not given the ability to know if the four boys would rise the call. He had been correct when he told them they were the chosen ones and they alone could defeat the demon Shredder, but he knew that it was a terrifying thing to put on the shoulders of four teenagers. He never would have done so if there had been any other way.

But there was not. It was how it was meant to be.

Splinter thought about each other them. Michelangelo seemed to be very carefree and an all-around happy spirit, but Splinter sensed there was more to it than that. Something he was keeping to himself.

Donatello was very intelligent. He had overheard their conversation as he was making his way to them. Donatello seemed to be a very level headed person, but like Michelangelo, he sensed something else was driving the young man.

Raphael was hard. Splinter didn't know why a youth his age would have such anger. What would cause someone to be that angry at the world? Despite that however, Splinter saw that Raphael was someone that cared about something very much.

Leonardo was someone Splinter felt that was a reserved person. He was patient. He waited to find out all the facts then made his move. He seemed very level headed as well. And if what he saw and heard of their interactions yesterday were anything to go by, he had the makings of a good leader as well. But like the other three he sensed something beneath the surface. Leonardo seemed to be hiding some deep sadness that he couldn't begin to understand.

Splinter was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of movement from above. The sound of feet smacking against pavement and water. He opened his eyes to see the four boys jump carefully down to the island. Once they all landed they made their way to him. Splinter stood and rested his hands on his ever present cane. The old rat smiled at them gently, "I trust you have all come to a decision?"

Leonardo looked back at the other three who subtly nodded to him. He nodded back, then took a few steps in front of the small group and looked to Splinter.

"We're in."

**..::-::..**


	6. Chapter 6

**Alrighty team! Its Sunday again which means another chapter! YAY! I gotta say this story is writing itself, but it is turning out to be a little longer than I originally thought. Oh well, more to love! :D Anywho I see you guys adding this story to your favorites and story alerts and I really appreciate all of it, but please review as well. I Really enjoy reading what you guys say. Believe it or not they give me encouragement and sometimes ideas! ;P**

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><p>Leo watched as master Splinter smiled at them and his chest seemed to swell with happiness. Leo too felt that he had made the right decision. When he had met the others outside before they came in they had all agreed to help out.<p>

'_I can't just let some evil guy destroy the world!_' Mikey had cried. '_That is just plain rude, dude! Besides, I've always wanted to be a super hero! Now I can be! Turtle Titan to the rescue!_'

'_If there really is an ancient evil rising again, it would be wrong to just ignore it. Ignoring something doesn't solve the problem, it only makes it worse._' Donatello had offered.

Leo had nodded, '_It's the right thing to do._' He had agreed.

They then had looked to Raph who had crossed his arms angrily, '_I'll go along with this, but I got my own reasons._' He said leaving it at that. Leo wondered why someone who seemed so self-absorbed would care, but he wasn't going to argue with him. They needed all the help they could get.

Leo was brought out of his thoughts as Splinter began to speak, "I am glad to hear you have chosen wisely. From now on you will refer to me as sensei or Master Splinter. For I am now your teacher."

They all nodded, "Yes Master Splinter." They chorused.

"Good, we shall begin."

"Wait." Raph said cutting off Master Splinter, "You want to start training now?"

Master Splinter looked at him, "The enemy will not wait, it will not show mercy. You have much to learn and not much time to learn it in. We cannot wait." Raph paused but didn't argue with him as Master Splinter went on, "Yesterday you each were able to tap into your Chi energy to change to your human forms. I wish for you to do so again, yet change into your turtle forms."

Leo nodded and searched for his core; that feeling of pulsing once more. He found it faster this time and focused on that feeling letting it encompass him. He felt himself shift and there was weight once more on his back. Leo slowly opened his eyes and looked down at his hands. He smiled in success; he was a turtle again.

Looking around he saw that everyone else had shifted to their turtle forms as well. He then looked to Master Splinter who was smiling at them, "Well done, my students. Now we may truly begin."

**..::-::..**

Leo flopped down onto the spongy ground with a grunt. He was tired and he knew he was going to be sore tomorrow. Master Splinter had started off training by telling them the history behind Bushido and Ninjutsu and what a Ninja was and how they were always in the shadows. He had explained that when they were in their turtle forms and facing enemies in general, the shadows would be the safest for them and a strong ally. After that very long explanation he then went on to teaching them the basics.

Leo already knew many of the things Master Splinter had taught them, because of his history with martial arts, but there were new things he hadn't known in there as well. He was also surprised at how fast he was picking it up. He too noticed how quickly Donnie, Raph, and Mikey were picking up the lessons. He remembered Raph knew how to fight somewhat, by what he had seen Monday at the gym and the punching bag, plus his little spat with Mikey and himself, but Donnie and Mikey seemed like they would have no idea what they were doing however they were catching on quickly. It was more than likely the instincts Master Splinter had told them about yesterday.

Mikey seemed very swift in his movements, very fluid and go with the flow. He seemed to act on his instinct even more and just improved on it.

Donnie too was using his instincts, but Leo could see the calculation in his eyes. Donnie weighed every option in his head, chose the best course of action then attacked all within a millisecond.

Raph acted on his instincts at once. He didn't really think about his actions, but what he wanted as the end result… his victory.

Leo on the other hand tried very hard to follow every instruction Master Splinter gave him and tried his very best to execute it to the best of his ability. He despised failure, growing up the way he did, it was not an option. And now that the world could very well fall to evil tomorrow it _really_ wasn't an option.

Mikey, Donnie, and Raph all fell onto the ground next to him each breathing heavily and looked thoroughly exhausted. "Dude, I've never worked so hard in my whole life!" Mikey cried before gasping for breath once more.

"Agreed, that was stimulatingly challenging." Donnie added.

"Yeah." Raph put in.

Splinter walked over to them and they each looked at him as they sat up, "You did well, my students. You may return home now, but you must return here tomorrow at 4:00 once more to continue your training."

"But Master Splinter, I have Kendo club every day after school till 4:30. The only reason why we didn't have it today or yesterday was because sensei Tsuyoi had to be somewhere after school. We have a Kendo tournament on Saturday." Leo said not wanting to miss anything.

"I have be home right after school to check on… I have to be home." Donnie said before evading his reason.

"I gotta be home right afta school too." Raph said as they all stood.

Master Splinter then nodded his head, "I see." He then looked to Mikey.

Mikey shrugged, "I don't go to school and I don't have anywhere to be so I'm good."

Master Splinter then looked at Mikey raising an eyebrow, "You do not attend school?"

Mikey shook his head, "Nope."

Master Splinter frowned some, "That will not do. You need to attend school, Michelangelo. A well-rounded education is also a tool within the Ninja's arsenal." Mikey looked like he was about to argue, but then stopped and nodded. He didn't look too happy about it, but he was going to listen. Leo could tell.

"Now onto the predicament of your training." Master Splinter went on, "I do not wish for any of you to get into any kind of trouble, but you must train. What do you propose we do to solve this?" He asked looking at them all.

Leo thought for a moment before saying, "I can come here at 5:30ish."

"I can be here at that time as well." Donnie nodded in agreement.

"I'm good." Mikey said with a smile.

"Six is my earliest." Raph supplied.

"Then let's meet here every day at six o'clock." Leo said looking to the others for conformation.

They all nodded then looked to Master Splinter. "Very well. Then we shall train every day at six o'clock. However," He said with a smile, "You may have Saturdays off. It is unhealthy to constantly train. A ninja, like all things in life, needs balance."

"Sweet!"

"Yes!"

"Thank you Master Splinter!" Leo said happily as they all cheered.

"You are welcome, now return home and I will see you all tomorrow at promptly six."

Leo nodded then they all bowed to Master Splinter as he had instructed earlier. Leo then closed his eyes and focused on his Chi energy once more. As he felt the pulse consume him he felt his body change and this time he opened his eyes and watched his three green fingers become five white fingers and the blue slashes of his Chi fade. Leo couldn't help, but smirk. That was pretty freaking cool.

Looking around he saw everyone else's Chi fade and they return to their human forms as well. "Bye Master Splinter!" Leo called as he and the others ran to the opening the climbed back out.

"We'll see you tomorrow, dude!" Mikey added as he too climbed out.

"So long my students and be safe!" Master Splinter called.

"We will!" Donnie answered as he and Raph climbed out.

Once they were in the abandoned subway tunnel and walking up the rails, Mikey spoke, "So how do I go to school?"

"You could come to our school." Leo suggested.

"Sweet! Where is that?"

"Sterling Academy is on the corner of Madison Ave. and E 57th street." Leo answered.

"Near Central Park?"

"Yep."

"I could help register you Mikey." Donnie said as they turned down W 46th street.

"Really? Thanks Donnie!" Mikey then started bouncing around, "Dudes I've never been to high school before! This is gonna be awesome!"

Raph smirked, "I wouldn't start celebrating yet, Mikey. High school is awful. It's full of people who do nothing but torture and torment you until you crack." Mikey stopped bouncing and looked at him. "And down in the basement of the school is a haunted chair that takes the souls of the innocent!"

Mikey then promptly let out a girly scream. This in turn caused Raph to nearly fall onto his backside because he was laughing so hard.

"Raph!" Leo snapped.

"What I'm jus joking!" Raph said his smile still present.

"Just ignore him, Mikey." Donnie said placing a comforting hand on Mikey's shoulder, "High school's great!"

"Says the nerd." Raph said under his breath.

Donnie glared at him, but chose to continue speaking, "You get to learn about anything you'd like and there's all the books you can read!"

Mikey seemed to deflate some, "Do they have comic books?"

"Um…" Donnie paused, "The school library might, but-"

"Sweet! Sign me up!" Mikey said cutting him off. They all sort of just laughed at him.

As they all parted ways Leo stayed behind when they reached Mikey's ally. Leo looked up to the sky and saw clouds rolling in as it was getting darker. "Mikey are you going to be okay? It looks like it's going to rain." Leo said as he pointed to the sky.

Mikey looked up as well and seemed to hesitate before looking back at Leo and waving him away with a smile, "I'm good, bro. I got a little hole I crawl into when it rains."

Leo looked over to where Mikey was gesturing to and saw that it was no more than a small over hang that didn't even look like it would fit a cat let alone a teenage boy. Leo sighed and made a decision, "Mikey why don't you come spend the night with me tonight?"

Mikey looked at him with wide eyes, "No dude! I couldn't do that! Besides, I told you, I'm good!"

Leo shook his head, "No you're not Mikey. That is no place to sleep, let alone stay when there's a storm. You could get sick. Moreover, we can go to school together tomorrow and I can show you where it is."

Mikey seemed to think about it for a moment before asking somewhat uncertainly, "What about your parents?"

Leo smirked glad for once that he was alone, "They're out of town. What they don't know won't hurt 'em."

Mikey beamed, "Okay, cool!" He then jumped hugged him, "Thanks Leo bro! You really are the best older brother a guy could have!" Leo laughed and hugged him back before they broke apart and headed to his apartment. They headed inside and Mikey's jaw dropped, "Holy ginormous apartment Batman!" He cried.

Leo chuckled a little self-consciously. "Yeah, it's kind of big."

"_Kind of big_!? Dude! You live in a mansion!" Mikey argued walking further in, "What do your parents do!?"

Leo rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "My dad owns U-phone."

"Owns?"

"He started the company and is the C.E.O. of the U-phone."

"No freaking way!" Mikey cried with a big smile.

"Yeah…"

"Do you have any pizza?" The young blonde asked out of the blue.

Leo nodded, "Yeah." He walked over to the fridge and pulled out the mostly full pizza box. "Go for it." He said and Mikey dove right in.

The rest of the night they spent playing video games and eating even more pizza. Leo suggested they practice some of the things that Master Splinter had taught them earlier and he could tell Mikey did not want to do any type of homework, but he did in the end practice with Leo. All in all a good night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Alrighty team! Once again Sunday is here which means UPDATE! Wohoo! Anywho We getting closer and closer to a chapter I'm really excited about you guys reading! I want to post it now so bad, but there is still more to go! XP Anywho enjoy and please let me know what you think!**

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><p>Leo groaned as he rolled over to the sound of a very annoying alarm. He cracked his eyes open to see the time; 6:30. He sighed, time to get up for school. Rolling over he got out of bed and started walking into the next room. Mikey was snoring on the bed the sheets all over the place yet somehow still covering him. Leo smiled, he was glad he had invited Mikey over, last night had been so bad they sent out storm advisories over the TV.<p>

"Mikey, time to get up." Leo said walking into the room. Mikey rolled over away from him with a mumbled something. "Come on Mikey, if you don't get up we'll be late for school."

At once Mikey shot up, "School!?" He cried startling Leo.

"Yeah, we have to get ready-"

"Yes!" Mikey cheered before jumping out of bed, "It's time for school!"

Leo couldn't help, but laugh, "Come on, we need to get ready."

They then took showers and ate breakfast and Leo gave Mikey some new clothes to wear. A new pair of jeans with white shirt and an orange sweatshirt. Finally they were headed out and to the bus stop. "Thanks for the new clothes bro. You really didn't have too."

Leo shrugged, "It's no big deal. I hardly ever wear those anyway, besides orange is more your color than mine." Leo added with a smirk thinking about when Mikey used his Chi energy.

Mikey seemed to catch on and smiled with him. They made it to school and were greeted by none other than Donnie and Raph. "Hey guys!" Mikey said excitedly. "Look what Leo gave me!" He said happily holding out the sweatshirt and pulling on the jeans.

"Very nice." Donnie said with a smile before handing Mikey a binder. "Here, I put everything you're going to need in there and I signed you up for classes last night. We just need to go check in."

"Cool. Where's that?" Mikey asked as he started looking through his new binder.

"In the office. We'll show you." Leo said before leading the way.

"Is every school this big?" Mikey asked as they traversed through the halls and around students.

"No, but we do have a lot of students." Leo answered.

"We actually have 1,024 students that attend this school." Donnie supplied. "Including you, Mikey." He added with a smirk.

"Sweet." Mikey smiled. They then got to the office and Donnie went to work signing Mikey up and talking to the office personal.

When he was done he walked back over to them and handed Mikey his schedule. "Okay, Mikey here is your schedule. I put you in classes with us so if you have any questions we can help you. Unfortunately most of the classes you have are with Raph."

Raph's head popped up, "Why do I gotta babysit 'im?" He asked looking unhappy.

"Because Leo and I have mostly honors and collage classes." Donnie answered.

"Oh so I'm stuck wit' de baby because you two are better den me?" Raph snapped glaring at them.

Leo and Donnie looked at each other. "Yep." Donnie said.

"Pretty much." Leo agreed. Raph clenched his fists and growled. He then started turning green and Leo saw his fist start to transform. Quickly, he grabbed his hand and yanked it getting his attention. "Raphael calm down." Leo hissed. "You're starting to change." Raph looked down at his hand saw what was happening and his eyes got bigger. He ripped his hand away from Leo's and forced himself to take a breath, his transformation leaving him. Leo could tell he was still angry so he continued, "Mikey's in my English class and we all have P.E. together. We all also have the same lunch."

"Yeah how did we not notice each other before?" Donnie asked thinking about it.

Leo shrugged, "I don't know. I guess we never really needed to before." Just then the bell for their first class rang. "I'll see you guys later." Leo called before racing off.

After a few hours it was his 4th period class; English. He got there a little surprised to see Mikey already there sitting right in the center front row seat. When he saw Leo enter he smiled widely and waved him down, "Come sit over here, bro!" He called. Leo could only chuckle and smile good-naturedly at him.

Leo took his seat next to him and got his stuff out, "So how's everything going so far? What do you think of school? Has Raph tried to kill you yet?" He added as an afterthought.

Mikey smiled knowingly, "Naw, he's fine, though I do believe I saw steam comin' out of his ears when I asked him why his assignment was graded so low." Leo barely held back a snort when he laughed. "As far as school goes? It's totally awesome! I love it! I get a locker all my own where I can put stuff in it and people won't take it! And I learned about the Civil War! I didn't know African Americans fought with the Union soldiers that's just totally rad!"

Leo chuckled again, "Yeah school will teach you all kinds of things." Throughout the class Leo was pleasantly surprised to learn that Mikey was enjoying himself. He asked questions and seemed to really want to learn. It made Leo feel bad for him. He knew Mikey was homeless, but how long had he been on his own and _why_ was the big question. Leo wanted to ask, but he didn't want to seem rude and he had only known Mikey a few days now though if he was honest it felt like he has known him forever.

When the bell rang Leo led Mikey to the cafeteria where he then proceeded to eat nearly everything. Luckily Leo had enough cash on him to cover for his lunch. That was another thing they needed to discuss. Mikey's money problem and his living state. Leo then spotted Donnie and walked over to sit with him, Mikey following behind. "Hey." Leo said in greeting as he and Mikey sat.

"Hey." Donnie supplied. They then saw Raph walking out of the lunch line and Donnie raised his hand, "Raph over here!" He called. Raph froze for a second before they all heard laughter coming from another table. Leo recognized some of the boys Raph had been with when they first met.

"Look at the geeks!" One of them called, "Trying to act like they're important." This brought another round of laughter and Donnie lowered his head slightly an embarrassed blush coloring his cheeks. "Come on Raph, no need to hang with losers." The boy went on.

Leo looked over to where Raph still stood and narrowed his eyes at him slightly. Leo knew they had just met and barely knew anything about one another, but would Raph let that jerk talk about them like that?

Raph suddenly got a smirk on his face and raised his nose to them, "Commin' Joey." He called before walking over to sit with them. Apparently he would.

"Aww man." Mikey said sadly.

"Jerk." Donnie disagreed with a glare towards them. Leo only nodded.

"Aw sorry, dudes, but nature calls. I'll be right back!" Mikey said before walking away to the bathroom.

Leo took his chance. "We have to do something about Mikey." He said drawing Donnie's

Donnie blinked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean about his lack of money and proper place to live. He can't continue to live on the streets."

Donnie sighed, "I agree, but what can we do? Not that I wouldn't mind, but he can't stay at my place."

"I doubt Raph would put him up and if I brought him home my father would have a conniption." Leo agreed saddened by the thought.

They were silent for a moment, "What do we do?" Donnie asked eventually looking worried about him.

They once more thought, "Splinter." Leo blurted when the thought popped into his head.

"What?"

"Master Splinter. We could ask Master Splinter." Leo clarified. "Maybe he can help Mikey."

"It wouldn't hurt to ask." Donnie reasoned.

"He is teaching us Ninjutsu and helping us with our new abilities." Leo continued.

"What about our powers?" Mikey asked coming to sit down next to them once more.

"Nothing we're just getting better at them." Donnie answered smoothly.

Mikey smiled, "I know!" They spent the rest of the lunch period talking about their training and different things they liked.

The rest of the day was uneventful if you didn't count Mikey trying to use his powers in P.E. Leo and the guys were barely able to stop him before he started glowing all over the place and blowing their cover. Donnie nearly had to hold Raph down. However Raph was allowed to chase a screaming Mikey around the gym a few times.

They parted ways knowing they would see each other later that day. Leo headed off to Kendo practice. Kendo was went fine without any problems. However sensei Tsuyoi did pull him aside once more, "Leonardo, you seem… different." His sensei said looking at him thoughtfully.

Leo's head popped up nervously, "Bad different?" He asked quickly.

"No, just different." Sensei Tsuyoi said gently. "Has something happened? Is there something you wish to tell me?"

Leo relaxed glad his sensei didn't know anything. "No nothing, just… figuring it out." He offered with a small smile. "Ready for the tournament."

Sensei Tsuyoi paused for a moment before returned his smile, "I'm glad. You will bring much honor. Now go home and rest."

"Yes sensei Tsuyoi." Leo said before bowing to him and heading out. He went to the bus stop and walked to the little ally Mikey lived in, "Mikey?" He called looking around.

"Leo!" Mikey's voice called from back in the corner. "What's up dude?"

"I was just heading home before training, want to come over?"

"Yeah! Let's go!"

Leo laughed and they headed back to the stop just as the bus arrived. "So how was your first day of school?"

"It was awesome bro! The teachers answered like all my questions and let me help wipe off the white boards! I also got to go to the library Donnie showed me and they had comic books! I could read them for as long as I wanted too and no one got mad at me!"

Leo chuckled, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"Is school always that fun?" Mikey asked excitedly.

"Umm…" Leo trailed off unsure of how to answer. "It can if you want it to be, Mikey." He ended up saying.

"Sweet."

They arrived at Leo's place and the first thing he did was head to the closet, "Mikey I meant to give this to you earlier." He said pulling out a backpack and handing it to him, "It's one of my old ones, but this way you can carry all your stuff around."

Mikey smiled at him and gave him a hug, "Thanks, Leo." He said before jumping off of him and racing to the kitchen. "Got any Pizza left!?" He called and once again Leo chuckled and headed into the kitchen.

They spent the rest of the time playing video games and watching an odd show or two. Leo's favorite 'Space Heroes'. Finally it was time to head down for training. As they traveled towards the station Leo thought about what he was going to say to Master Splinter about Mikey. Would it be weird to come outright and say 'hey can Mikey live with you?' 'Do you even have a place to live since you're a giant rat?' How would that sound?! It seemed they arrived at 11th and W. 47th too soon for as they hopped out and met up with Raph and Donnie, Leo still had no idea how to go about it.

**..::-::..**

When training had ended Leo took his chance and stepped away from the others. Walking up to Master Splinter, he nervously rubbed the back of his bald green head and cleared his throat, "Master Splinter, may I speak with you?"

Master Splinter turned to him a gentle smile on his face, "Of course you may. What is troubling you, Leonardo?"

Leo took a deep breath, '_Just spit it out._' "Do you know of someplace where Mikey can stay?" He said coming right to the point. Master Splinter narrowed his eyes slightly clearly confused. So Leo went on, "He's homeless."

At this Master Splinter's eyes widened and Leo swore he saw anger before it was replaced by sadness, "I see." He said gently, "Why does he not have a home? Do his parents not know where he is?"

Leo sighed, "I don't really know. Mikey hasn't told us anything, but I get the feeling he doesn't have any." They paused to look over to the other three where Mikey was laughing at something before Raph started chasing him causing Donnie to laugh instead. "We would let him stay with us except he can't and we don't feel right about letting him stay on the streets. It's too dangerous." Leo finished with a defiant look.

"I understand." Master Splinter said before raising his head, "My Students." He called to the other three and they turned to look at him.

"Yes, sensei?" Donnie asked as Raph let Mikey go at once.

"There is something I wish to show you all." Master Splinter answered before turning away, "Follow me." He command before picking up his paper lantern and walking away from the pool they knew so well and into the darkened tunnel. For a moment none of them moved before Leo all gave them a look and they all started forward somewhat warily. They all walked behind Master Splinter in silence until they finally came to an entrance of some kind. The four of them stared in shock at what looked to be the rest of the subway station they had been practicing in for a few days now. "This is my home where I have stayed for some time now. You four are welcome to stay here as well as long as you like. This may become your home as well if you so wish it." They looked around before excitedly jumping down from the ledge and racing around.

Leo went straight to a back corner where what looked like unfinished storage rooms were supposed to be, but just ended up being four rooms of sort. "We could make them bedrooms!" Someone called beside him and Leo turned to see Mikey smiling at him.

Leo nodded, "Yeah, we could."

"Okay I call this huge room for my lab!" Leo and Mikey both looked over to see Donnie standing just outside two ginormous metal doors smiling like a lunatic his gap tooth as plain as day. "I've always wanted my own laboratory, but never had the means to do it! Now I have the space! This is going to be so cool!" He cried before laughing somewhat maniacally.

"This pit could make a really cool entertainment area and I could put a practice dummy off the side!" Raph added standing in said pit.

They then all looked over towards Master Splinter who was smiling at them, "Do with this place as you will. As I said, this place may also now be your home."

Mikey then walked up to him a little hesitantly, "So I could stay here with you?" He asked gently then added quickly like he was afraid of the answer, "I promise to stay out of your way and to not be loud or noisy! And I promise you'll never even see me!" Leo blinked at that. Why did Mikey think he had to be invisible?

Master Splinter smiled at him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "Michelangelo, you may stay as long as you wish and you do not need to be invisible to do so. I would be honored to share my home with you."

Mikey then smiled at him and enveloped him into a hug, "Thanks Master Splinter. If I ever had a dad, I'd want him to be just like you." He added somewhat softly.

Master Splinter was a bit thrown off, but quickly recovered and hugged him back, "You are welcome, Michelangelo. You four mean a great deal to me as well." He added looking at them.

Leo felt his chest swell with happiness and he looked around to see Raph smirking happily and Donnie smiling right back. They seemed pretty happy too.


	8. Chapter 8

**Alrighty team! Sunday is here! Update time! Wohoo! Please enjoy and let me know what you guys think! :D**

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><p>"High kick! Jab! Punch left! Punch right! Low sweep! Back flip! Finish!" Splinter commanded as each of them did as they were told. "<em>Yame!<em>" Leo stopped and the four of them all turned to face Master Splinter before bowing at the waist then kneeling down in front of him. "I would like you to fight each other in pairs now to test your progress." They all looked at one another a bit excited as the old rat went on. "You will each face each other than the next team will face off. Donatello will face Raphael. Michelangelo will face Leonardo." They all nodded before getting into positions. "_Hajime_!" Leo and Mikey stared each other down before Leo charged.

"Oh yeah! Michelangelo is on the move!" Mikey cried before jumping out of the way of Leo's strike. Mikey smirked as he landed, "You don't know what to do!" Leo glared at him before charging once more. "I'm here, I'm there, I could be anywhere!" Mikey said happily avoiding each of Leo's strikes. Leo almost got him, but he missed barely. Then he got an idea and smirked as Mikey continued to taunt him, "How do you stop what you can't even see!?"

Mikey charged at him and Leo waited patiently before ducking down and slamming his fist into Mikey stomached plastron. Mikey rolled on the floor holding his stomach before crumbling to the ground. "Like that?" Leo asked with a smirk.

Mikey held up a pathetic finger, "Good one, Leo." He croaked before dragging himself to the sidelines to wait. Leo smiled at him before looking to Raph and Donnie seeing Raph slapping Donnie's shell as the genius was calling out for mercy. The two then turned to face one another as Donnie joined Mikey. They then got into kneeling into positions. "_Oneigaishimasu_." Leo said to him.

"Whatever you say." Raph said before they both charged. Raph smacked Leo in the head, but the Leo managed to counter with a kick knocking him down. They then charged again, but somehow Raph was able to grab hold of Leo's wrist and throw him over Raph's shoulder and to the ground winning the match. As Leo held his throbbing shoulder Raph smirked down at him, "Nice try."

"_Yame_!" Master Splinter called stopping them before they all kneeled in front of him. "You all did very well."

"But I did better." Raph cut in with a smirk. Leo turned to slightly to gawk at his audacity. Then again this was Raphael. He really shouldn't be _that_ surprised.

"This was about self-improvement Raphael. It is not about winning and losing." Master Splinter explained.

"I know sensei. But I won and they lost." Raph went on happily. Master Splinter then pinched the skin between his neck and shell and at once Raph corrected himself, "But what's really important is that we all did our best. Good job everyone!" He cried with fake enthusiasm before Master Splinter let him go with an evil little chuckle of his own. Leo felt himself smirk inside at the righteousness of that moment as Raph rubbed his sore spot, but chose to remain silent.

Master Splinter then went on, "You are all progressing quickly and I am proud of the growth you have made." Leo exchanged looks with the others excited about what he was saying. "However," Master Splinter said cutting their victory short, "None of you have yet to use your Chi energy."

"What do you mean, sensei?" Leo asked confused, "We're in our turtle forms and we use it every time we change like you said."

Master Splinter nodded, "Yes and I am glad you are able to access it, but being able to change forms will not be enough. You will need to use your Chi energy to defeat the Shredder as he will also be using everything he can to defeat you." The energetic air suddenly dissipated.

"How do we do that?" Leo asked softly.

"You must focus like you do when you change and allow the energies to flow through you as a channel. Only then will you be able to access your full potential." Master Splinter answered.

Leo sighed frustratingly, "Yes Master, but how? How can we focus on defeating an enemy when we have to be thinking about constantly focusing our energy?"

Master Splinter shook his head, "I am sorry, Leonardo. That is something you will have to discover for yourself." They all were silent at his words before the old rat smiled at them once more, "Training is now over and you are all dismissed. After all, we wouldn't want to be too exhausted for the tournament tomorrow would we?"

Leo looked up at him forgetting his worries and smiled, glad Master Splinter had remembered. "Oh yeah!" Mikey said looking over to him, "You got a Keendo thing!"

Leo laughed as Donnie raised a finger, "Its pronounced _Ken_do, Mikey."

"Like dat stupid Barbie doll thing girls are always talkin' about?" Raph asked with a grimace.

"Yes, it's pronounced like that, but it has nothing to do with dolls. It's a Japanese art of fighting. Kendo is derived from-"

"Don't know, don't care." Raph said cutting Donnie off.

Donnie scowled, but chose to stay silent. "Leonardo," Leo looked over to the smiling rat, "Good luck." Leo smiled back at him as his chest swelled. Right now he felt like he could do anything,

"Man I'm hungry." Mikey said drawing the attention as he stretched.

"Me too." Donnie agreed.

"You guys want to go to Antonio's for pizza?" Leo asked excitedly.

"Heck yeah!"

"Sure."

Leo looked over to Raph, "You coming too?"

Raph looked at him for a second before rolling his eyes then started to walk away, "I got better tings ta do den play with you babies. See ya Master Splinter!" He called before disappearing.

"Goodbye Raphael." Master Splinter answered.

"What was that about?" Donnie asked confused.

Leo shrugged, "Who knows." They all then changed forms and exited the subway. "Bye Master Splinter!"

"See you later!" Donnie called.

"I'll bring you back a slice!" Mikey added before they broke the surface.

Quickly they made their way down to Times Square and Leo led the way to Antonio's. As he pushed the door open he smiled as he saw the kind owner call to him. "Leonardo! How are you doing, eh? You solve that big problem yet?"

Leo smiled and nodded as he, Mikey, and Donnie walked up to the counter. "Yeah I figured it out. Thanks. These are my friends Mikey and Donnie." Leo went on introducing them.

Antonio nodded, "Good to meet you! Now what can I get for you fine gentlemen?"

"Pizza!" Mikey cried excitedly.

Antonio laughed, "Okay pizza it is." He then started to roll out the dough. "What kind of pizza this one gonna be, huh?"

"Cheese, jalapeños, jelly beans and maple syrup!" Mikey answered happily.

Both Donnie and Leo cringed, but Antonio burst into laughter. "That's a very funny! Good joke!"

"He's not joking." Leo said seriously.

Antonio paused then smiled, "I'm all about trying new things, but perhaps that a little too new for me, my excited friend." Mikey looked a little down so Antonio went on, "I don't have any maple syrup, but I do think I have some jelly beans in the back, huh?" Mikey looked at him excited and Antonio winked at him.

As Antonio continued to work, Leo looked around and noticed a sufficient lack of customers. "Where is everyone?" He asked out loud.

Antonio scowled just a bit before he answered, "There is a new pizza place that just opened up around the corner. Real nice sit down restaurant. It's a making me lose my business." He answered sadly.

"Oh no." Leo breathed. Antonio's had the best pizza and he was Leo's friend.

"That's awful." Donnie sympathized.

Antonio nodded sadly as he placed the pizza into the oven, "Yes it is. And there is nothing I can a do about it."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Leo asked wanting to help him.

Antonio smiled at him, "Leonardo my friend, I wish there was."

"I know what you could do!" Mikey cried happily, "You could open up a toping's bar!"

They all looked at him like he had grown a second head, "A what?" Donnie asked confused.

"A toppings bar!" Mikey said again not losing any luster. "So you make just a regular pizza then they can add whatever they want on it like jelly beans!" He then walked over to the center of the joint, "You could put the bar here. Like a salad bar, but for all kinds of toppings and charge for each topping!"

Donnie then placed his hand on his chin in thought, "That could actually work. If you got your marketing big enough."

Antonio looked contemplative then smiled, "I will certainly look into it."

They spent the rest of the time relaxing and having fun. Leo learned a lot about Donnie and Mikey. Donnie wanted to be a scientist with an emphasis on Physics and Chemistry. Though he was knowledgeable in pretty much everything.

Mikey wanted to be a super hero.

Leo smiled and told them he wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, but he really did enjoy training. Maybe he would open his own Dojo one day. Eventually they all had to go home. Mikey had saved a few 'normal' pieces of pizza for Master Splinter as he had promised and Donnie took the rest home with him. Leo still had leftovers from the previous night. The young man walked to the bus stop but something caught his eye. Not seeing the bus anywhere he walked over to where he saw two men who looked exactly alike walk into an alley.

In the words of another, his turtle sense was tingling and he knew something was off about them. Remembering Master Splinter's teaching Leo stuck to the shadows and remained as quiet as he could as he followed them further into the alley. Finally they came to a stop and turned to one another.

"Kraang. The one known as Kraang Prime wishes Kraang to know the beginning known as the end has begun." One man said to the other. Leo blinked. They were talking weird.

"Kraang now knows of this. Kraang thanks Kraang." The twin said back before they both walked away and out of the alley. Leo was about to follow them when he heard the bus behind him.

Quickly he made his way to the stop not wanting to wait an hour for the next one. As he rode his way back to his place he couldn't help, but think about what he had overheard. Never before had he heard such a strange way of speaking. And those men looked exactly alike. They even wore the same suit. And as he continued to go through the moment in his head he also realized that both men hadn't shown any emotion whatsoever when they spoke. _That_ wasn't normal. And what the heck was a Kraang and what was a Kraang Prime? And what did they mean by the beginning of the end?

Leo sighed and shook his head, no point in worrying about something that had nothing to do with him. He needed to let it go… but he couldn't. Something was wrong about those men and Master Splinter had been teaching them about using their instincts and listening to what they told you. Maybe he would ask Master Splinter when he saw him next.

**..::-::..**

Mikey walked happily back into the lair, as he had dubbed it, carrying a box of everything he owned. Some comic books, his other pair of clothes, trinkets he had found over the course of his homeless career, action figures, a couple books including a cooking book he was excited to try out, and his small teddy bear. He would never part with it. Ever.

"Ah Michelangelo, I see you have returned." Master Splinter said as he walked out of the room above where they practiced, "Do you have everything?"

Mikey nodded, "Yep! All right here in this box!"

Master Splinter seemed to frown somewhat before a smile took over and he nodded. "You may chose whichever room you desire and do whatever you wish to do within it to make it your own."

"Sweet! Thanks Master Splinter!" Mikey cried before racing over to where the rooms were. He checked each one before deciding on the one closest to Master Splinter's room. Not that he was afraid! Oh no Mikey wasn't afraid, he just didn't like to be alone. Mikey went to work setting up his room and laying the mats and few ratty blankets on the floor that made up his bed before placing his things around the room. His room. Mikey smiled before falling onto his bed and smiling.

"Are you finished?" Master Splinter asked coming into the room and looking around. There was not enough nor sufficient bedding for his like, though.

Mikey nodded, "Yep!" He then stood and smiled at him, "Thanks for letting me stay here with you. I really appreciate it."

Master Splinter smiled at him as well, "It is my pleasure Michelangelo. It gets very lonely down here and it will be a welcomed change to have another here. Though," He paused stroking his chin hair, "I believe a more sufficient bed and blankets will need to be gathered."

Mikey looked over at the bed that had been his own for a while now a little confused, "What's wrong with it?"

"I doubt it is very comfortable for one." Master Splinter answered giving him a look, "And if you are going to be staying here you will need a proper place to rest."

Mikey nodded agreeing with him, "But where are we going to get a bed? I don't have any money."

"I believe a trip to the dumb will be in order." Master Splinter answered with a mischievous twitch of his whiskers. "Would you like to come with me tonight?" He asked knowing the answer.

"Would I!?" Mikey cried excitedly, "When can we go!?"

Master Splinter chuckled, "We may leave tonight after it gets dark. There we will be able to find a suitable bed for you and more supplies for our home."

Mikey's heart swelled in happiness at that word. Home. He hadn't had one in a very long time and Mikey was excited to be sharing it with Master Splinter and his bros when they were around. Right now Mikey felt like the luckiest kid/super hero turtle in the whole world. Nothing could make this better… okay maybe another slice of pizza, but then it was perfect!

**..::-::..**


	9. Chapter 9

**Alrighty team! Sunday is here! Update time! Booya! I hope you all had a fabulous Turkey Day! I did! From here it starts to pick up in the story. Sorry it took a while, a lot of background and things to setup first, but all fun to do! So as always please enjoy and let me know what you guys think! :D**

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><p>Leo rolled over and glanced at the clock; 11:23 PM. He sighed. He was too excited about his tournament tomorrow and couldn't sleep. He then jumped out of bed, got dressed quickly, and headed out. He was going to the lair. Mikey had told him earlier that he and Master Splinter were going dumpster diving so to speak to get supplies and Leo decided he was going to go help them. Seeing as how he wouldn't go to sleep if his life depended on it right now.<p>

There was a reason why New York was called the city that never slept. Even at this time a night thousands of people were still out and about. Leo kept to himself as he rode the bus to the lair and once there he quickly got out of sight and entered the subway station. On his way down he heard very familiar voices and as he entered the lair he saw Donnie, Raph and Mikey all pushing a pin ball machine into place against the wall. They managed to get the thing up and Leo saw that there was long couches set up in the pit and apparently someone had brought a TV too. For it was sitting in the pit as well. Raph had brought his own punching dummy and Leo also saw a tire swing hanging above the little water way under where he was standing.

"Geeze you guys!" Leo said smiling and jumping down to join them. "Moved in much?"

They all looked up and over to him, "Hey Leo!" Donnie said smiling back.

"What're you doin' here? I thought you had a big tournament tomorrow?" Raph asked crossing his arms.

"Well yeah, but I can't sleep. I just came over to see what Master Splinter and Mikey were up too since they were going to the dump." Leo answered coming to stand by them. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Same." Donnie answered. "Raph and I had some stuff we wanted to bring over. Plus we helped Mikey and Master Splinter set up the rooms. There's one for all of us." Donnie added with a smile.

Leo smiled too and went over the rooms to see that they were indeed now bedrooms. They were too small to really put a lot of stuff in there, but they each had a bed and a few other pieces of furniture depending on the person. Leo's room had a desk in it where Mikey's had a dresser. Leo looked back at them, "Why didn't you guys call me? I could've helped." He asked curiously and secretly just a little saddened that he was left out.

"We didn't want to wake you." Mikey answered. "Raph said we should just leave you to sleep 'cause you had that big tournament in the morning."

Leo blinked in surprise and looked over at the hot head. Raph glared at him, "What?" He snapped.

Leo shrugged, "Nothing just… thanks." He added with a smile.

Raph scoffed and rolled his eyes, "Whatever Fearless. I jus didn't want ta hear any complainin'." At that Leo rolled his own eyes.

"This is very impressive my students. The lair is looking more like a home every second." Master Splinter said looking around the room with a pleasing eye. "I am proud to see you making this your home as well however, you all need your rest. Especially you Leonardo." Master Splinter said giving him a look. Leo cleared his throat awkwardly, but said nothing. "You need rest. A Ninja must always be aware of their surroundings and have a keen mind. That it achieved by proper training and proper sleep."

"But sensei, we were going to go get something to eat then come back here and spend the night." Donnie informed him.

Master Splinter looked like he was going to argue then sighed when he saw the puppy faces they were all giving him. "Very well." They all cheered. "But be safe and don't talk to strangers!" He called as they raced away.

"_Hai_ sensei!" They called.

"Everyone is a stranger!" Master Splinter clarified.

"_Hai_ sensei." They all said tiredly before racing away.

They decided to head to Antonio's their favorite pizza place and on the way there it was pretty good, but then Mikey got very heated when Raph tried to tell him the Silver Sentry wasn't the best member of the Justice Force, but in fact Nobody was. Luckily they made it to Antonio's before blood was shed.

As they entered Leo was happy to see it was pretty busy compared to when they came earlier. The guys followed Leo to the busy counter and Leo smiled as he saw Antonio tossing a pizza. "Leonardo! Donnie, Mikey! And a new friend! It's great to see you!"

Leo smiled at him, "This is Raph." He introduced gaining a nod from both Antonio and Raph before going on, "It's great to see you so busy! What happened?"

"Yeah, when we came here earlier it was a ghost town in here." Donnie asked looking around at all the people.

Antonio laughed heartily and smiled, "It's all thanks to a Mikey!" He answered, "His idea about the toppings was brilliant! It's got me a lot a new customers! And I named the pizza after him, eh?" He then pointed to the board above his head, "'A Mikey Special', huh? What do you think? Like it?"

"Like it!?" Mikey all but screamed, "I love it! I've always wanted to be named after a pizza!"

Antonio laughed again and handed the pizza off to someone as he came around the counter to talk to them more closely. "I'm glad I could make you happy. Mikey you helped save my business with that brilliant idea. How would you like to work for me as a consultant?"

"I've always wanted to be a consultant!" Mikey said excitedly then looked at the guys, "What's a consultant?"

Raph rolled his eyes and Leo smacked his forehead while Donnie answered, "You tell him how to make his business better."

"Oh sweet! Yeah I'll do that!" Mikey answered nodding excitedly.

"_Meraviglioso_!" Antonio cried just as excited. "I'll just need your mother, father or guardian to sign this form to allow a minor to work, but that's it!" He said handing Mikey a form. Mikey then lost all color from his face as he took it.

"Mikey you okay?" Raph asked shoving him gently.

Mikey shook his head and nervously laughed, "Yeah sorry about that. I'll get this back to you." He added smiling at Antonio.

Antonio nodded once then went back behind the counter, "Now what can I get for you gentlemen?"

"A Mikey special!" Mikey cried and they all laughed.

**..::-::..**

On their way home they were indeed enjoying each other's company. Even Raph was being somewhat tolerable. "Are you going to stay at Splinter's place tonight too Leo?" Donnie asked curiously as they turned down a dark street.

"I would love too, but I know I'll sleep better in my bed at least the night before a tournament." He said smiling at them. "I could probably stay for Sunday though."

"Sweet!" Mikey cheered with a fist pump.

Suddenly they heard a crash with what sounded like a woman screaming. "What was that?" Donnie asked nervously as they all looked down an alley.

"I don't know, let's take a look." Raph said with a smirk.

"Guys wait, this seems like a bad idea." Leo said trying to stop them. "We don't know what's down there and our training isn't complete yet." Another scream happened and they all looked over as they heard scuffing noises. They all gave him a look, "Okay let's go, but be careful." He said before they all changed forms then cautiously walked into the alley. It took them all of four seconds to see that four guys were cornering a young woman who was clutching her purse to her.

"Come on lady hand over the purse and we'll let ya go." One of them said holding a knife to her.

"Halt citizen!" Leo cried holding his hand out as he and the guys came up to the robbers. "Leave that woman alone!"

"Halt citizen?" Raph asked looking at him with a deadpan.

"What?" Leo asked confused. "That's what Captain Ryan says all the time on Space Heroes when he wants to stop a bad guy."

"Space heroes!?" Raph asked before breaking into laughter "You actually _watch_ that show!?"

"It's a great show!" Leo defended.

"Um guys maybe not the best time to be discussing this." Donnie said pointing to the five people looking at them. The four bad guys were shocked/glaring at them and holding out their weapons. The woman looked absolutely petrified.

"What the heck are you supposed to be?" One guy asked. "A bunch of freaks?"

"We're ninjas." Leo answered proudly.

"We're mutants." Raph sneered.

"Technically we're turtles." Donnie clarified.

"I thought we were teenagers." Mikey asked somewhat confused.

Leo rolled his eyes and glared at the men, "Whatever, now let the woman go."

"Right." One guy said sarcastically before all four men charged them. Leo and the guys barely had a few seconds to react to get out the way before they were hit.

Throughout the fight they kept constantly getting in the way of each other. Raph accidently knocked Mikey to the ground and Donnie smacked Leo in the head with a slap. Somehow in their bumbling the bad guys got away and the four of them were left glaring at one another.

Instead they looked to the woman who was looking even more terrified by the second. "It's okay ma'am, you can go now if you want. Do you need help to the police station?" Leo asked smiling gently at her. Instead of thanking him she just simply screamed and raced out of the alley as far away from them as possible.

"Well that's gratitude at its finest." Raph said sarcastically.

"Let's just head back." Leo said with a sigh.

He anticipated a dreadful, but silent walk home, however he was completely wrong. The whole way there they argued about whose fault it was that the bad guys got away. They continued to argue to the point where they were interrupted by Master Splinter.

"What happened my students?" He asked making them all freeze. It took one look from the kind rat and they were spilling their guts to him. "So due to your inability to work together, they got away and you were seen by a human." Splinter summed up.

They hung their heads in shame.

"Well I could've gotten dem if _somebody_ didn't get in my way!" Raph snapped glaring at Leo.

"I was doing fine! Donnie shouldn't have slapped me in the head!" Leo countered glaring at the genius.

"It wasn't my fault! Mikey tripped me!"

"Yeah well none of this would have happened if _somebody_ trained us better!" Mikey countered then all four of them snapped their heads towards Master Splinter. "Oh geeze sensei, I'm sorry." Mikey said catching his blunder.

"No Michelangelo, you are right." Master Splinter said looking at them.

"I am?"

"He is?" They all asked just as surprised.

"Yes. I have been training you as individuals not as a team. As your teacher your sensei and adviser the fault falls to me." Master Splinter said before stroking his chin hair in thought. "If you are going to be a team, you are going to need a leader."

Leo's hand shot up, "Can I be the leader?" He asked excitedly. He always wanted to lead just like Captain Ryan and be a hero.

"Why should you be the leader?" Raph asked, "I kicked your butt. I shoulder be the leader."

"Hey I'm smarter than all of you guys put together it should be me." Donnie disagreed.

"No way! It should be me!" Mikey cried. They all gave him a blank look, "I don't really have a reason I just think it would be neat."

"This is a difficult decision. I will meditate on it." Master Splinter said shutting the door to his room. Then he snapped it open, "It's Leonardo." Then shut it again.

Leo saw Raph look down, "No hard feelings Raph?" He asked trying to sooth some of the blow.

Raph growled and got up walking away, "Stick it in your shell." He snapped before walking out of the room. Leo sighed then stood. He needed to head home. He was tired now.

"Night guys." He said before leaving.

**..::-::..**


	10. Chapter 10

**Whoa! Sorry about that! I literally didn't come home Sunday until midnight. So now I'm updating for ya! I've been excited about this chapter and the coming chapter for a long while now so please tell me how much you love it! ;D**

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><p>Leo rolled out of bed and glanced over at the clock. 8:00 Am. He sighed even on the weekends he couldn't sleep in if he tried… and he had considering his late night last night. Not fair. Resigning himself to the fact he wouldn't be getting anymore sleep today he got up, showered and dressed before going downstairs to make eggs for breakfast. Leo knew he would need the protein today for his tournament. At that thought he got very excited. Looking at the clock which read 8:47 he scrunched up his face in thought. He didn't have to go to the gym until 9:30 to get ready for the competition at 10:00, but he didn't have enough time to go see Master Splinter and Mikey.<p>

Before he could figure out what to do his phone rang. Blinking stupidly at it wondering who would be calling him, he reached over and glanced at the number. He didn't recognize it, but he shrugged and answered it anyway. "Hello?"

"_Leo? Hey, it's me._"

"Donnie?" Leo asked surprised. "How'd you get my number?"

Over the line Donnie cleared his throat and Leo could tell right away he was nervous. "_I may have not exactly followed the law to the letter in regards to your cell phone number._"

Leo just laughed. He didn't care. In truth he had been meaning to exchange numbers with Donnie and Raph for a while now. Still hadn't figured out what to do with Mikey though. "Okay what's up?" He asked while cleaning up his breakfast mess.

"_Would you be able to meet me here at the lair?_"

"The what?"

"_The lair. It's what Mikey's calling Master Splinter's place._" Donnie clarified.

"Oh." Leo glanced at the clock, 8:50. "Actually Donnie, I need to get going. My Kendo tournament is at 10 and I need to be there by 9:30."

"_Oh well then we'll meet you outside the gym. Is that okay?_"

"Yeah that's fine, but what is so pressing we need to meet so soon?"

"_I can't tell you over the phone, but it's a surprise. Bye Leo!_" With that Donnie hung up.

Leo blinked then shook his head. He would find out soon enough. Leo then pulled on his favorite blue zip-up hoodie on, then headed out the door. As he rode the bus to the gym, Leo remembered his encounter with the strange men yesterday. Maybe he would bring it up to the guys. They were supposed to be protecting the world and those guys just rubbed him wrong.

Soon the bus stopped in front of his stop and he hopped out. Leo walked the little ways to the gym only to see Mikey and Donnie waiting our front for him. "Oh Leo dude! Over here!" Mikey called waving him down.

Leo chuckled and walked over to them. "So what is so pressing we had to speak in person?" He asked.

"This!" Donnie cried holding out a small device that looked like a turtle's shell.

"And that is?" Leo asked confused.

"I call it the T-Phone!" Donnie proclaimed happily.

"Dude! I'm in charge of namin' stuff. I would've called it, the T-Phone." Mikey corrected looking at bit put out.

Donnie looked at him, "I did call it the T-Phone."

"Yeah, but I wanted to call it the T-Phone." Mikey pouted.

Donnie rolled his eyes and continued, "Anyway, I made these phones so that we could contact each other whenever we needed too." He then handed one to Leo. Leo looked at it and opened it up. It was just a regular cell phone only a bit bulkier and simpler. "When we are our turtle forms we only have three very large fingers so this way we call each other without having to worry about little numbers. I've already programed everyone's phone number into the T-Phones and we don't have to worry about bills or anything. I created our own network." Donnie finished proudly.

Leo stared at him, Donnie was a whole lot smarter than he initially thought. "Wow, Donnie this is amazing! Thanks and great idea!" Leo said placing his new T-Phone in his pocket.

"Thanks!" Donnie said before stepping aside, "You should probably head in. Mikey and I will see you in there!"

Leo looked at them a little surprised, "You guys are staying?" He asked confused.

"Of course we are, bro!" Mikey answered, "We came here to support you!" Donnie nodded in agreement.

Leo smiled at them, warmed by the gesture. Normally he was alone at these tournaments because his parents would be out of state or too busy to bother to come. "Thanks guys." He said genuinely.

"What are brothers for?" Mikey asked with a smile before Leo headed in.

**..::-::..**

"Come on Mikey let's go get seats." Donnie said as he and Mikey started walking inside after Leo had left. As they entered the gym Donnie noticed a certain red head and he felt an evil smirk crawl onto his face. Mikey, following behind him like a puppy, walked with him all the way to said red head, "Hey Raph." Donnie drawled startling the hot head making him jump slightly and turn around. They saw Raph's skin flash green before he calmed down as he saw who they were. Then when he saw it was Donnie and Mikey he quickly got mad again and started to change. "Raph calm down." Donnie chide. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"You didn't startle me, I was jus… practicin'." Raph said stubbornly calming down.

Mikey leaned around Donnie's tall frame, "For what? Jump starters of the month club?" Mikey then started to laugh and Raph got that look in his eyes Donnie was started to recognize as fire.

"Knock it off Mikey." Donnie snapped stopping the younger boy causing him to pout. Donnie would rather not deal with either of them changing without Leo here. Somehow they always acted better around him… somewhat… maybe he was screwed either way. Turning back to Raph who had calmed down enough not to be green anymore, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Raph glowered, "Well I was goin' ta lift some weights, but because of dis stupid tournament everythin's closed."

"Wanna come sit with Donnie and me?" Mikey asked coming out from behind Donnie. "We're here cheering Leo on!"

Raph rolled his eyes, "Thanks, but no thanks. I got better tings ta do." He then sharply turned around and started walking away.

Donnie saw right through that, "Oh yeah sure you do. Which is why you're still here!" He called out at Raph's retreating back. Raph tensed for a bit, but didn't turn before he moved on and disappeared. Donnie scoffed, "Meat head." He grumbled.

Donnie and Mikey ended up finding great seats near the front and were able to cheer Leo on every time he was in a duel. Donnie tried explaining the rules to Mikey, but it was like trying to tell a brick wall to melt on command. It couldn't be done. And it didn't help that when Donnie started explaining about Leo's standing as a 3rd Dan that Mikey complained his brain hurt. Finally he gave up and said Leo would get a point if he hit the guy.

Mikey, right on cue, responded with a loud cheer of 'Go Leo! Break that guys face!'

Donnie promptly smacked his forehead.

All was going pretty smoothly until the final round. Leo had made it all the way to the finals, but was having trouble focusing. His next opponent had knocked all of the others down in 2 minutes as opposed to the timed three, the boy was massive. Leo doubted he was even the same age. He looked like he could be in collage.

**..::-::..**

Leo swallowed heavily as he watched his next and final opponent leave the arena. They both had 10 minutes before the final match. Leo decided he needed some water before he headed back in. Removing his _men_, he walked over to the water fountain and drank some before splashing some on his face. He took more and poured it on his sweating head and placed some on the back of his neck as well to try and cool off then sighed. All this gear was very hot.

"Don't stop on my account."

Leo spun around to see a girl leaning up against the wall next to the fountains. He hadn't even noticed her. Master splinter would not be proud. She was wearing what looked like a biker's outfit of some sort with a black leather jacket to boot. Her hair was incredibly short, but two strands were allowed to hang down to frame her face. Her eye makeup was interesting. Dark under her eyes and a red design on her lids.

She was… _very_ pretty.

"You're doing pretty good out there." She went on forcing herself off the wall. "You drop your left shoulder too low though. If you hold it level you'll be able to avoid a few more blows that way."

Leo eyed her for a moment, "Thanks." He then held out his hand, "I'm Leo and you are?"

She looked at him for a bit before she started forward. She kept walking towards him until he was forced into the wall. Leo stared at this very beautiful girl that had him trapped unsure of what to do. She just kept staring at him with that very inviting smirk until finally her smirk widened, "Interested." She answered before putting a little paper in his hand. "Good luck Leo." She said before walking away. As he watched her go he saw that the back of her hair on the underside was dyed blonde. After she disappeared he looked at the little paper she had given him. It was a phone number. Leo grinned. Sweet.

"Leo!" Leo looked up to see Donnie and Raph making their way towards him and he quickly stuffed the number away. "Hey we just wanted to wish you good luck with the final round." Donnie was saying.

Leo smiled at them, "Thanks."

"Raph says he's waiting here to use the weights, but I don't buy it." Donnie went on with a smirk towards the red head.

Raph glared at him, "I was!"

"Was?" Leo teased.

"Yeah well I got nothin' better ta do." He said crossing his arms in a pout.

"Where's Mikey?" Leo asked noticing his absence and choosing to let Raph off the hook… for now.

"Oh he went to use the bathroom." Donnie answered. "He should be-"

"Guys, guys! You're never going to believe this!" Mikey cried racing towards them. "Leo, your sensei, he, he had a brain!" He cried absolutely terrified.

They all looked at him in a deadpan, "We all have brains Mikey." Leo said tiredly.

"Not all of us." Donnie supplied.

"In our chests!?" Mikey went on, not even fazed by the jab.

"No Mikey, not in our chests." Leo answered like he was speaking to a child.

Mikey glared at him catching on, "You're not listening to me!" He practically screamed hysterically. Leo promptly slapped him. On reflex, Mikey's hands flew up into a defensive position, "Did you just slap me?"

"I was trying to calm you down!" Leo defended. Captain Ryan always did it and it worked.

Mikey stared at him, "Why would that calm me down!?" He yelled.

"I think he's delusional." Donnie supplied.

"You're figuring this out now?" Raph asked with a raised eyebrow.

Leo shook his head, "Sorry guys, but I have to go." He said before he started to walk away, but was stopped by his opponent.

The other boy looked at him, "Running away so soon West?" He taunted. "Need your baby friends to come hide you?" He asked before laughing.

"I got one for you." Donnie began, "Ever think that the only reason you are still a 3rd Dan is because this is a far as your mental capacities can take you?"

The boy looked thoughtful for a second before he got angry, "I don't need to get what you're saying to know I've been insulted." He growled taking a step towards Donnie.

At once Leo was in front of him giving him a hard look, "I am your opponent Snake. Leave him alone." He said darkly. Out of the corner of his eye, Leo saw Raph and Mikey tense and stand somewhat in front of the genius. Inwardly Leo smirked in triumph. They were starting to become a team after all.

Snake look like he very much wanted to argue, but thought better of it. Instead he just glared at them more before walking away.

"What a creep." Donnie said after he was gone.

"Yeah, but a good one." Leo countered. "He's going to be hard to beat."

"You can do it Leo!" Mikey cheered.

"You're better then him for sure." Donnie added.

"If ya let dat Snake creep beat ya, I'll pound ya into de ground myself, Fearless." Raph added.

Leo smiled at them, "Thanks guys."

"Just watch out for brain thingys." Mikey added.

They all sighed and walked away. The judge called for the start and Leo got onto his side and placed his _men_ back on. When he got the okay, Leo stepped forward and bowed. Snake did then same. They met in the middle drew their _shinai_ then crouched. Leo stood as Snake did and they both got ready to fight.

Leo had no idea this battle would start it all.

****..::-::..****


	11. Chapter 11

**Alrighty team! Sunday is here again! Wow that came fast! XD This chapter has been another one I've been dying to give you! So please tell me how much you love it! Reviews make me smile and inspire me to write more! ;D**

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><p>"Point!" The Referee called holding up a red flag causing Leo and Snake to take a step away from each other. Before Leo could even breathe, Snake struck again, gaining another point. So far Leo hadn't landed one blow where Snake had landed three and it was already a minute thirty into the match! Donnie was getting a bit concerned. Leo only had a minute thirty left! He knew Leo could beat this creep, but he was starting to doubt Leo knew that.<p>

"Come on Leo!" Mikey cheered.

"Don't let dat punk beat ya!" Raph added.

"Just remember what Master Splinter said and focus!" Donnie offered hoping it would help. Donnie watched for a few tense seconds before suddenly everything seemed to pause and the young genius felt the air shift.

Beside him Mikey shivered, "Do you guys feel that?" He asked looking around nervously.

"Yeah." Donnie agreed. It literally felt like energy was flowing through the air.

"What de heck is goin' on?" Raph asked looking around, feeling what they were as well.

"Guys look!" Mikey cried drawing their attention down towards Leo and Snake.

Donnie stared in shock as he realized the feeling of energy they were picking up on was coming from Leo. The young Kendo fighter was rock solid facing a very nervous looking Snake. Rapidly a white blue spark flew off of Leo followed by more sparks.

"Please tell me you guys are seeing this." Mikey said in shock, his eyes wide.

"Yep." Raph agreed nodding.

Donnie looked around and noticed everyone seemed a little uneasy, but no one seemed to notice the sparks or sense anything like the power they were sensing from Leo. "Guys, I think we're the only ones seeing this." Donnie offered as he made a realization. "And I think Leo's using his Chi."

"He figured it out?" Raph asked in shock. Right after he spoke Leo struck Snake so fast Snake didn't even move to block it. Even the Referee seemed surprised as he called for a point.

"Apparently." Donnie answered. The next minute and twenty-two seconds consisted of Leo absolutely slaughtering Snake. Leo won by a landslide. 7 points to three. Donnie, Mikey, and Raph all ran down to Leo who removed his _men_ and was smiling at them after his victory as the crowd cheered. "Way to go Leo!"

"I knew you could do it, bro!" Mikey cheered. Raph simply smiled at him.

"Thanks guys." Leo said smiling at them, "I don't think I would have been able to beat him if it weren't for you."

Raph rolled his eyes, "Oh please. No need ta get sentimental, Fearless." Leo simply laughed.

"Leo," Donnie began getting his attention, "Do you realize what you did?"

Leo looked confused, "No, what did I do?"

"You used your Chi, bro!" Mikey answered.

"I did?" Leo asked shocked before looking at his arm.

"No, you managed to use it like Master Splinter's been trying to teach us." Donnie clarified. "You didn't know?"

Leo shook his head, "No, I had no idea. How did you guys know?"

"We saw it and we were able to sense it." Mikey answered.

"But no one else did." Raph added, "We were de only ones." Without warning the ground started to shake, "What de?" Raph said as everyone started to look around. As soon as it began it stopped.

"What was that?" Leo said looking around at the nervous faces of the crowd. Donnie then noticed Leo's sensei walking towards them. Leo seemed to notice him too, "Sensei Tsuyoi, do you know what that was?" He asked, "Do we need to head outside?"

Tsuyoi didn't answer Leo right away, in fact he didn't even look at him. That was when Donnie noticed Mikey was glaring at him and was completely tensed and ready for a fight. Donnie looked back at Tsuyoi who still hadn't moved and Donnie was starting to get a very bad feeling.

"Sensei Tsuyoi?" Leo asked again as they all started backing away.

"Leonardo, you never told me you were able to wield your Chi like that." Tsuyoi said finally looking at Leo.

"How did you-"

"My Master will be very pleased to know that I have found the chosen ones." Tsuyoi interrupted.

"Oh crud." Raph said under his breath echoing all of their thoughts.

Tsuyoi then started coming apart. Donnie watched in amazement as the man became a techno robot with weaponry before their eyes. "Whoa, an alien robot!" Donnie exclaimed in shock.

"An alien robot, huh?" Mikey said looked contemplative, "Where've I heard that before? Oh yeah, I've been sayin' it for hours!" He cried making Donnie cringe. Okay he had been right.

By now the entire gym was full of people running and screaming as they ran away. "Not now, Mikey!" Leo cried before they all ran away to hide behind the bleachers.

However Mikey didn't listen. He stepped out and pointed straight at the robot, "See, see!" He cried causing everyone to look where he was pointing. "It's a brain thing! I told you! I told you! But did any of you believe me? No! Because you all think I'm some kind of bonehead!"

At once Tsuyoi turned straight for them and lifted up the bleachers exposing their hiding spot. "Mikey!" They all snapped at the same time glaring at him.

"Okay, but I was still right about the brain thing." He begged, "You gotta give me that!"

"Move!" Leo cried as they all ducked out of the way of a huge hand coming to smack them.

As they dove for cover again Donnie noticed they were among the only people remaining in the building. That was a good thing, less people to get hurt, but the downside was they were his only targets now.

"What do we do?" Mikey whispered.

Leo then changed into his turtle form and quickly removed all his gear, "We fight." He answered. "Just like Master Splinter's been training us to do." They all looked at one another, "This is the reason we agreed to help. Because of things like this. To save the world. To be heroes. Now, are you with me?" He asked holding his hand out. Mikey placed his hand on top of Leo's right away as he changed. Donnie smiled and followed suit changing as well. They then looked to Raph, "We can't do this without Raph." Leo said with a smile.

Raph took a breath then smiled as he placed his hand on the pile and changed, "Lead the way, bro." He said with a smile. They threw their hands in the air with a cheer, but before they could do anything else Raph asked, "Are we really supposed to fight that thing with our bare hands?"

Leo thought for a moment, "Okay move as quickly as you can and find a weapon. Then get back here." They all nodded however before they could do so, a huge explosion made them all fly away from each other.

Donnie landed in a pile of wood and splinters. Shaking the ringing from his head he was thankful for his hard shell for once. Seeing the robot hulking towards them Donnie scrambled for the first thing he found. Standing he twirled the large staff in his hand slightly amazed he could do so, so effortlessly. He was a little shocked at how normal it felt. He would figure it out later. Donnie then felt a little button on the staff and without thinking he pressed it almost on reflex. A blade came out and Donnie smirked. This would work.

**..::-::..**

Mikey slid into a hard stop, happy he had a shell to cushion the impact. The young turtle pushed himself onto his hands and knees and shook his head. He didn't like being exploded at. Mikey was scared, but he had to be brave like his brothers. He was supposed to help save the world like a real hero. Mikey needed to remember what Leo said. Oh yeah! Find a weapon.

Looking around Mikey saw a lot of broken glass, but two things stood out the most. Moving over to them careful to avoid the glass Mikey grabbed the weapons and spun them around for a second. He smiled liking how they felt and how natural if felt to have something spinning in his hands.

Nunchakus. That's what they were called. Mikey smiled as he spun them again, but then he felt a chain fly out and a hook of some kind flew out and landed in the wall. Mikey stared at it for a second before he grinned. This would work.

**..::-::..**

Raph landed harshly on his side, but luckily it didn't cause any lasting damage. He rolled onto his feet quickly and looked around the room, Donnie and Mikey were just getting up, but Leo was nowhere to be seen. That made him worried. '_Focus Raph._' He told himself, '_Jus like Master Splinter's always says._' Raph took a deep breath, '_Now, what did Leo say? Oh yeah, find a weapon._' Raph looked around and something red caught his eye. Turning around he saw two very sharp fork looking things inside a glass case. '_Works for me._' He thought before he grabbed a chuck of concert and threw it at the glass shattering it. Raph then reached in and grabbed the forks, one for each and twirled them a few times. Raph liked how they felt. They felt natural and easy. '_Oh yeah, dis would definitely work._'

**..::-::..**

Leo groaned as he pushed himself up and out of the pile of rubble he was under. His head was pounding and the ringing in his ears was still going strong, but Leo forced himself to shake it off. He needed to find the others, but first he needed to find a weapon. Leo looked around desperately hoping there was a spare _shinai_ around or something. What he saw however made him stop at once. A pair of Katana were on the floor next to him. Where they had come from, he had no idea, but he didn't really care at the moment. Leo reached over and took both of them. He knew how to wield duel Katana, he was always better with two than one, but he was never allowed to use two. Now however he was going to and he didn't care what anyone said. This would work.

"LEO!" Leo's head popped up when he heard Raph call his name and at once he was running.

"I'm here!" He called coming into view of everyone else. Everyone had found a weapon and he was very thankful for it. They all raced over to him looking just as scared as he felt. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah, but I think I might need to change my shell." Mikey said looking at the giant robot coming towards them.

"We can do this." Leo said strongly, "We just have to work as a team. Just like Master Splinter's been teaching us." They all nodded and turned to face it, "ATTACK!" Leo cried and they all screamed, running at the thing.

Not two seconds later they were being thrown across the room once more.

"Well that didn't work." Donnie said sitting up.

"Right now would be a great idea for a plan, oh wise leader." Raph said as they all stood.

Leo scanned the room trying to come up with anything that would work when suddenly his eyes fell onto the electrical power box in the corner and a smirk graced his green face. "Donnie, how good are you with electrics?" He asked quickly startling said turtle.

"Um, I liked to think versed in it well enough." Donnie answered blinking in confusion.

"Think you can make that thing go boom?" Leo said thumbing behind him at the robot. Donnie raised an eyebrow so Leo added, "There's a power box in the corner."

Donnie's eyes widened, "Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?!" He cried glaring at Leo.

"Yep!" Leo said with a smile, "Do it and we'll keep Tsuyoi busy." He continued before he, Raph and Mikey jumped into battle again, not giving Donnie a chance to say anything. Leo went to strike at Tsuyoi's face, but Tsuyoi grabbed him and chucked him into the wall. Leo slammed his head and he saw stars momentarily. Once again he was so grateful for his shell. He would have had broken bones many times over if he was in his human form. The young leader forced himself to shake it off and leaped back into battle.

Raph had managed to cut off a hand, how? He had no idea nor did he care. Leo went straight for the other hand. While Mikey distracted him, Leo launched into the air and, with Raph's help, lopped off the other hand. Tsuyoi didn't even cringe.

"Guys! I'm ready! Lead him over here!" Donnie called.

Leo and the guys then used every kind of taunt they could to get the hulking robot to move to their trap. "Hey brain dude!" Mikey called, "My dead grandma's faster than you!"

The robot followed Mikey over the bleachers and Leo jumped up to the stand before tapping the bottom of his shell taunting him even more, "Over here Tsu-lame-oh!" He cried. Tsuyoi reached out to grab him even though he no longer had any hands, but instead of grabbing Leo, who jumped out of the way, he stuck his hand right into the power box that was already overloaded due to Donatello's tampering.

"Hit the deck!" Donnie cried and they all raced into the hallway away from the gym just as the thing went boom.

A few minutes went by as falling concrete and smoke filled the air, but when no other sound penetrated the stillness. All four boys tentatively poked their heads out of the hallway to see what had happened. The gym was absolutely destroyed with a huge whole in the wall barely any wall left and the remains of the robot was scattered metal on the floor.

"We did it?" Raph asked sounding slightly amazed.

"Ahh yeah son! L.T.D.! Like a Turtle Do!" Mikey cried before they all smiled and joined him in cheering.

"We did it! I can't believe that actually worked!" Leo cheered happily.

"I can't believe we're all still alive!" Donnie added.

Leo then heard the sound of sirens. "Come on guys. We need to disappear." They all looked at him with a smile before nodding.

When the police arrived all that was left, were questions.


	12. Chapter 12

**Alrighty team! Sunday is here again! AND! It's my birthday! Whohoo! Self promotion! XD Anywho, you guys are going to love this chapter! At least I hope you do. ;) I also want to thank you guys for all the reviews favorites and story alerts! It makes me so happy! Please continue to tell me how much you love this story!**

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><p>"Yeah! Who stopped the robot!?"<p>

"We stopped the robot!"

"I said who stopped the robot!?"

"We stopped the robot!"

"I SAID-"

"STOP ASKING!" Raph cried cutting Mikey off.

Mikey deflated a bit as he finished, "We stopped the robot."

Leo couldn't help but laugh a little happy and still amazed at what they had managed to do. They all had just entered the lair and were still very happy about the events that had just occurred. Master Splinter then walked in with a smile on his face. "What is going on, my students?"

"We just kicked some serious shell!" Mikey cried happily.

"We defeated a huge robot!" Donnie clarified.

"I see and who was this robot?" Master Splinter asked still smiling at them.

"It was Leo's sensei, Tsuyoi." Raph answered a huge smile on his face, "And we kicked his royal can!" They all cheered and gave each other high-threes.

At once Master Splinter became serious, "What do you mean?"

Leo and the guys then spent the next few minutes explaining the events that had happened earlier that morning.

"We are sorry about blowing up the gym Master Splinter, but it was the only way I could think to defeat him." Leo finished seeing Master Splinter's very serious face. Master Splinter still did not answer them and was stroking his beard apparently in deep thought. "Master Splinter?" Leo asked getting a little concerned. "Are you alright?"

That seemed to wake him from his daze. "Hmm? Oh, yes, however your description of the creature that was Tsuyoi has me concerned." He said thoughtfully.

"What'd ya mean?" Raph asked.

"Yeah pink brain thingy pretty much describes the whole creepy package." Mikey added.

"It is not that I am unable to understand, Michelangelo, but that what I understand concerns me."

"Huh?" Mikey asked, lost.

"From what you have told me about your battle and the creature, I believe it is a Kraang." Master Splinter went on. Leo's head popped up at that name.

"A Kraang?" Donnie asked, "What's a Kraang?"

"The Kraang are the Demon Shredder's servants." Master Splinter answered. "Their numbers are many and are formidable enemies. They follow the rule of their leader, Kraang Prime who is loyal only to the Shredder. They are the fore bringers of doom. Where ever they are, the Demon Shredder will surely follow."

"I heard some weird guys talking about the Kraang the other night. They were talking really weirdly, but they said Kraang Prime wanted the other Kraangs to know the beginning of the end had started. Whatever that meant." Leo added still not understanding. "I was going to tell you guys, but I hadn't gotten a chance until now."

They looked to Master Splinter, "What does that mean, sensei?" Donnie asked.

Master Splinter sighed, "It means we are running out of time." They all looked at each other nervously before Master Splinter went on, "I am sorry, my students, but we can no longer afford off days. We must practice every day so that we are not caught unprepared." All four of them nodded not caring in the least. They all now knew how truly serious this was and were in no hurry to lose this battle. Master Splinter then smiled at them, "Now however we should celebrate. You defeated a strong enemy today using ingenuity and teamwork. Like true Ninjas. I am very proud of each of you and I believe you are ready to receive you masks."

"Masks?" Leo asked confused as they looked at each other as Master Splinter stepped into his room.

"What'd ya mean?" Raph added.

A few minutes later he stepped out carrying something in his paws. "Ninjas work in the shadows and through concealment. Though in your turtle forms no one will recognize you there is still a bit of formality." Master Splinter then walked up to Mikey and handed him an orange bandana, "Take your bandana and wear it with pride, Michelangelo. You are Ninja now." He then looked at the Nunchakus in Mikey's hands, "The Nunchaku. That weapon is well suited to you Michelangelo. Like the lightning against its enemies." Mikey smiled at him and placed his bandana on. The tail ends were a little short, but it worked for him.

Master Splinter then went to Donnie and gave him a purple bandana, "Take your bandana and wear it with pride, Donatello. You are Ninja now." Master Splinter then looked at Donnie's Bo Staff, "The Bo Staff will serve you well Donatello. Nothing but air and power in your hands." Donnie smiled at him and took his bandana, the tail ends hung down his back.

Master Splinter then went to Raph, "Take your bandana and wear it with pride, Raphael. You are Ninja now." Master Splinter then glance down at Raph's weapons and smiled, "A wise decision Raphael. The Sai is a weapon of defense. They will give you strength to defend those in need." Raph nodded solemnly then took his red bandana and put it on. The tail ends of his were a little frayed, but it gave it a little character and it fit Raph all the more.

Master Splinter then came to Leo, "Take your bandana and wear it with pride, Leonardo. You are Ninja now." Master Splinter grinned at Leo's Katanas and spoke. "The Katana is the weapon of a leader. With this role you must use wisdom and discernment. Only then will you succeed." Leo nodded and placed the blue bandana on, the tail ends falling over his shoulder. Master Splinter then stepped back and gave them more equipment. Knee pads and elbow pads. He also had belts for their weapons and was able to make a slash for Leo and Donnie's weapons as well as tape for their hands and feet. Once done he stepped back, "You are Ninja." He said and Leo and the guys looked at one another. They looked pretty cool.

Mikey then let out a cry and they all cheered.

Leo smiled as he watched Mikey, Donnie and Raph play video games still celebrating their victory and if Leo was honest with himself, he was too, but he couldn't help, but feel… sad.

"Leonardo." Leo looked up to see Master Splinter walk over to him, "You are not celebrating? What is troubling you, my student?"

"Nothing sensei. I'm alright." Leo said offering him a small forced smile.

Master Splinter didn't buy it for a second. "To keep troubled thoughts inside oneself is to create a muddled mind."

Leo sighed, he should've known better. "I'm glad we defeated the Kraang thing Tsuyoi turned out to be I really am, but…" Leo turned his sad eyes on his true master. "For so long he had been my only friend. He was the only person I could go talk to and know that he was always there. To listen to me, to give me advice. To let me know… I wasn't alone." Leo finished softly trying in vain to keep the tears at bay. However he soon just gave up and let them flow as he placed his face in his hand. His other clenched at his side. He felt Master Splinter's gentle touch on his shoulder and looked up to his kind and concerned face. "I'm always alone, sensei." He finally said feeling a weight leave him as he finally let the truth out, "My parents are always gone. They're never around, I don't even think they know how old I am." He said sadly. "They don't love me, they just use me when it's convenient. When they don't need me, I'm by myself… alone and unwanted." Leo knew he sounded pathetic and that he really needed to just suck it up and get over it, but this was how he felt and he couldn't deny it anymore.

"Leonardo look at me." Master Splinter suddenly demanded. Leo's head shot up at his harsh tone. Instead of seeing an angry Master Splinter like he thought, he saw Master Splinter had tears in his eyes and the old rat enveloped Leo into a strong hug. One Leo greatly returned. "You are not unwanted nor are you unloved." Master Splinter began, "Know this as the truth. Just as it is the truth that you are not alone." Mater Splinter pulled away and walked out of the room for a moment before returning with something in his hand. He then handed it to Leo who saw that it was a picture of a man, woman and a child. Confused Leo looked up to Master Splinter for an explanation. "That is my family." He said. "Myself, my beloved wife Tang Shen and our daughter Miwa."

Leo's eyes widened and his mouth dropped slightly, "You were human too?"

Master Splinter nodded, "I was once yes. Many years ago I had a rival in Japan. His name was Oroku Saki. He was like a brother to me for all of my life, though we both fell in love with Tang Shen. When she choose me, Saki's heart turned cold and vowed vengeance on me. I was able to defeat him the first time, however he came back and defeated me. In the conflict my home was set ablaze. I survived, but I was unable to save my wife and our beloved daughter Miwa." Leo suddenly wanted to cry all over again and beat his own head in for being so selfish. "Shortly after that I came here to New York to start a new life. It wasn't long before the Great Mutation chose me to become your teacher and my life found purpose once more." Leo looked down in thought before Master Splinter continued, "I am telling you this Leonardo because, I too believed that I was alone when I lost my family, but that is not the truth. I hope you will not think this too forward and I know we have only known each other for a short time, but I have come to think of you four as my new family. As the sons I never had."

"Sweet!" Mikey cried raced over to glomp onto Master Splinter, "I never had a dad before!"

Leo blinked in shock before looking beside him, Raph and Donnie were standing next to him smiling. They must have been listening the whole time. "It's not too forward, sensei." Leo said making everyone look at him, Mikey still attached to Master Splinter. "I don't mind."

"Yeah, neither do I." Donnie said smiling.

"Me either." Raph said smirking.

Master Splinter smiled warmly at them, before Leo, Donnie and Raph joined Mikey hugging Master Splinter as he enveloped all of them into a hug. "Very well than, my sons."

**..::-::..**

Donnie couldn't help the happy humming as he walked to pick up the pizza. He lost the draw. He didn't mind all that much. It allowed him to think about everything that happened today and he didn't mind in the least. He was glad Master Splinter had a new family and Donatello certainly didn't mind being a part of it. Like Master Splinter had said, they had only known each other for a short while, but Donnie felt a connection to Master Splinter and the guys he hadn't felt before. So he certainly didn't mind having another family! As Donnie turned down Night Street he heard a startled scream. At once he was alert and followed the sound to the owner.

Coming around the corner he saw two men in identical suits trying to drag a squirming red head towards a waiting van. Narrowing his eyes Donnie quickly transformed and jumped into battle. Pulling out his Bo staff he thwacked one of the men causing him to let go of the girl. He then moved on to the other jump kicking his in the chest. This caused the man to almost toss the girl in the air. Acting quickly he dropped his staff and threw out his arms catching her before she fell.

The minute he saw her face his heart was lost. Red hair, blue eyes, freckles and the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

She however didn't feel that way about him, "AAAAAAAAAH!"

Startled by her scream Donnie screamed right back and dropped her jumping away from her. Getting a hold of himself he reached out to her, but she simply backed away scared of him, "It's okay." Donnie said soothingly, "I'm here to help. I'm the good guy." He reached out to her and for a second she looked like she was going to run away, but she paused and reached out to him. However before they could reach one of the men grabbed her. She let out another startled scream and started fighting back.

Donnie narrowed his eyes at the guy and grabbed his Bo staff. He slammed it into the guy causing him to drop the girl once more. Again he caught her, but forced himself to pay attention this time. He placed her on the ground and stood in front of her. "Stay behind me." He commanded.

"Okay giant lizard thing." She said back clearly confused.

"Turtle. Technically I'm a turtle." Donnie clarified. "My name's Donatello."

"April." She finished with a smile.

"Wow that's a really pretty-"

"Look out!" April screamed ducking behind him as the two men charged them.

Donnie growled a little in frustration, "Hold on a sec." He said before charging right at them. He raised his staff and smacked the one guy so hard in his face he reared back into his partner. When the one he hit stabled himself Donnie saw he had actually scratched the skin off him revealing a very familiar purple robot casing underneath.

Behind him April let out another startled yelp. "What are they?!"

"The Kraang." Donnie breathed in shock. He then smirked and pressed the button on his staff allowing the blade to come forth. That meant he didn't have to hold back.

With a mighty yell he charged the first one and stabbed him right in the stomach. Yanking it out quickly the stabbed the other in the head. As they went down like rocks April let out another scream. "What did you do!?" She demanded horrified by what he had appeared to have done. Before Donnie could defend himself the two robot bodies opened up revealing the Kraang creatures inside. April quickly ran to him and hid behind his shell as they crawled out squealing before they both dispersed into red smoke.

Donnie sighed in relief and put his Bo staff away before turning back to April who had taken a step back from him, "What just happened?" She asked shocked and scared.

Donnie rubbed the back of his head a little shyly, "It's kind of a long story, but first I need to know why the Kraang were trying to kidnap you. Do you know why?"

April shook her head, "I've never even heard of those… Kraang things. I was just on my way home when they jumped me." She wrapped her arms around herself and let out a shiver in fear or cold the young genius wasn't sure.

"Well just to make sure those things don't try again, why don't I walk you home?" Donnie offered before just realizing what he had said. He almost went red, but luckily he was able to hold in his internal panic for a bit.

April smiled at him, "Thanks. I'd appreciate that." She then suddenly shivered again and without a word, Donnie handed her his purple hoodie.

April looked at him a little unsure before he said with a shrug, "I did just get into a fight. I'm not all that cold right now. Although turtles are cold blooded…" He trailed off in thought missing April's smile as she slipped on his hoodie.

They started walking before April stopped again, "Um…" She began a little hesitant and turned towards him. Donnie looked at her, "I don't want to seem rude, Donatello, but umm, don't you think you're a little umm… conspicuous?" She asked gently clearly not wanting to offend him.

Donnie offered her a warm smile before he concentrated on that feeling in his core. The feeling of vibration all over him and slowly he felt himself change back. He heard April gasp and when he knew he was human again he looked at her shocked face and smiled at her, "Let me start at the beginning."

By the time they arrived at April's place Donnie had filled her in on pretty much everything. "So I am a little worried about why the Kraang want anything to do with you. Me and the guys sure, but you?" Donnie said as he sat on her balcony that led to her room. Her father would have never let a guy he didn't know up into April's room this late at night. So Donnie was forced to use the fire escape on the side of the building. Not that he really minded all that much. It kind of felt like a secret that only they shared.

April sighed, "Yeah, me too." They were silent for a second before she continued with a smile, "Thanks for tonight. You probably saved my life. And if there is ever anything you need help with, let me know. I want to help you guys. This is my planet too." She then pulled out her phone, "Give me your number so we can contact each other."

Donnie turned a little red, but did as requested and they exchanged numbers. He did a silent victory dance inside his head. Donnie then smiled, "I'll see you around April." He turned to go however April reached out and caught his arm stopping him.

"Wait, Donnie, you almost forgot your hoodie." She said going to pull it off.

Donnie waved it off, "Don't worry about it. You can keep it."

She looked at him surprised and truth be told Donnie was a little surprised that had come out of his mouth as well. "Keep it?"

"Yeah." He said. Not going back on it now. "My mom's favorite color is purple, so I have a few more at home, you go ahead."

April smiled at him and tugged it back on, "Well… thanks. I will."

They stood there in an awkward silence for a few seconds before Donnie rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, I'll see you later."

April smiled at him, "Yeah, see you."

Donnie nodded once more before jumping down the fire escape and heading to Antonio's. He had no idea where 'somewhat confident Donatello' came from, but he was not going to complain. Normally he was a pathetic mess in front of girls, but somehow he had figured out how to be fairly suave. He sure hoped that new ability didn't go anywhere, but if he had his way, he was going to be seeing April a lot more often.

**..::-::..**


	13. Chapter 13

**Alrighty team! Sunday is here again! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! And hope you all love this chapter and please continue to tell me how much you love this story!**

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><p>Leo smiled happily as he entered his place after school and practice. He had stayed a lot longer at the Lair than he had intended to and now it was dark outside, but last night had been so much fun with Master Splinter and the guys. Raph was still holding back somewhat, but he did seem a little more open with them, nonetheless Leo hopped he would come around eventually. What happed with Donnie and that girl he had met, April was a bit unsettling, but Master Splinter said they would figure it out later. The young man went to place his things away in his room, however he saw Mr. West sitting at the dining room table. Hands placed neatly in front of him and a look that Leo couldn't read.<p>

Leo walked into the dining room and set his backpack on the ground, "Dad?" He asked shocked. Then he remembered. Mr. West had said that he and his Mrs. West would be back in a week. And today was Monday. Had it really only been a week? "What are you doing here?" He continued before he realized Mr. West did live here… sort of. He was kind of always gone.

"I do live here." Mr. West said without batting an eye.

"Rarely." Leo muttered under his breath.

"I understand you won the Kendo tournament before there was a little mishap at the gym." Mr. West said nonchalantly fixing his cuffs getting straight to his point, not even asking how Leo had survived while he was gone.

Leo was used to this, "Yes I did." Was all he chose to say. Mr. West would never believe him anyway.

Mr. West nodded, "Good. I would expect nothing less." Leo rolled his eyes. Of course he wouldn't. "Listen, your mother and I are going to Germany for three months. We need to close a deal and overlook some factory business. Not something for children." He added looking directly at Leo.

Leo wasn't exactly sure what came over him, but he knew he suddenly didn't want to be the perfect obedient son anymore. "Nothing ever is." He said bitterly.

"Excuse me?" Mr. West asked looking sternly at him.

Leo wasn't going to be swayed. "I said; nothing ever is." He snapped and before Mr. West could say anything Leo continued. "You guys are always gone. I'm practically always by myself! You expect me to be this perfect son and do everything you tell me to. Get perfect grades, don't get into fights, win everything, be perfect!" He shouted angrily, everything just coming out. He was, unknowingly starting to turn slightly green. "Well, I'm not perfect! I got into a fight three times this week! And on my literature test, I got a B-! I won the Kendo tournament, not because I was the best, but because I had friends that were there to support me. Unlike you who never show up for anything!"

"That is enough!" Mr. West shouted standing. Normally Leo would've backed down by this time, but he was through letting this man dictate him!

"NO!" Leo shouted right back startling Mr. West when a burst of blue white energy exploded from his son. "You don't get to say anything! You have hardly ever been a father to me! Up until recently I didn't even know what it was a like to have a father _care_ that you're even _alive_!" Leo said angry tears starting to well in his eyes as he noticed his changing state. He needed to leave. "Go on your trip to Germany I don't even care anymore!" With that Leo grabbed his Katana and stormed out of his apartment, slamming the door behind him.

Once outside he started walking. He didn't even know where he was going, just that he wanted to get away. Everyone kept getting in his way and he just wanted to run. Growling in frustration he paused and took a deep breath. A drop of water hit his head and he looked up. Catching the glint of a fire escape he smirked and raced towards it. Jumping up onto it with an easy flip he scaled it frighteningly fast and jumped onto the roof. Breathing for a few seconds he smiled as he felt another rain drop hit his head. Then he started running. As he started to speed up he felt the rain start to pour and Leo was running in the rain. He loved every second of it. He jumped, flipped, twirled, and scaled each building as he jumped from roof to roof.

When he finally stopped he was overlooking Times Square. Breathing heavily he felt his body crouch down and look at the millions of people moving about below. He still had a job to do. He couldn't let his fa-… Mr. West get to him. That man was no longer his father. Mater Splinter was. He glanced down at his hand. He was human again. Leo sighed that was too close.

"It's fun to watch them." A voice said beside him startling him. Leo looked over shocked to see none other than the girl who had given him her phone number a couple days ago! "I call it extreme people watching." She smiled at his shock before continuing, "What are you doing up here anyway?"

Leo stared at her for a second not fully comprehending that she was in fact there, but he forced himself out of it, "Running." He finally said noticing that she had some sort of jumpsuit/armor on.

She raised an eyebrow, her ever present smirk on her red lips. "On the roof? In the rain?"

Leo shrugged, "I like the rain. Feels refreshing. And as far as the roof goes," He gestured down to the street below filled with people. "They kept getting in my way." She nodded seemingly understanding, but said nothing so Leo asked a question of his own. "So am I supposed to call you 'interested' the whole time, or is there a name to the beautiful face?"

At that she seemed a little caught off guard. Either by his forwardness or something else Leo wasn't sure, but he liked being the one with the upper hand. She pulled herself together and smiled at him, "Karai." She finally said and Leo nodded. The rain started to let up a little until it was a light smattering. "Do you want to do something fun?" She asked out of the blue.

Leo looked at her, "Sure. What do you have in mind?"

"Something interesting, come on!" She cried, smiling as she raced off. Leo had no choice but to follow.

The rest of the night was actually a lot of fun. Leo laughed and really enjoyed himself with Karai. She was a lot of fun even if some of the things she wanted to do were a little questionable when it came to the law, but they didn't break it and Leo had to admit it was pretty fun playing those pranks on the cops. He had never seen someone that heavy have their feet go over their head like that before.

They were back on one of the many roofs walking back when suddenly she pulled out a hidden blade from behind her and started attacking him! Leo was so shocked he barely was able to pull his Katanas out in time to block her blow.

"What are you doing?!" He cried, defending himself. Karai said nothing, but continued her assault. They were dancing and weaving on the roof trying to get the better of the other and slowly Leo started to realize he was strangely, surprisingly, having some fun. When he practiced with the guys, they weren't quite up to his level just yet. Yes Raph had gotten a lucky shot, but Leo felt like he had to hold back most practices. Now however he was giving it his all and getting all back. Finally though he was able to knock her Tanto out of her hand and pin her to the wall. "What was that all about?" He demanded narrowing his eyes at her while he held her to the wall.

Karai said nothing, but smirked at him. Leo was getting frustrated with her, but before he could say anything else she launched herself forward connecting her lips to his. Completely caught off guard Leo released her and stood there hands useless and eyes wide not knowing what to do.

Finally she pulled back and smiled at him, "I just wanted to make sure you could hold your own." Leo blinked confused, "Glad you can." Karai continued before turning to leave, "I had fun tonight, Leo. Call me sometime soon. We can do it again. See ya." She said before jumping off the roof and racing away on another one.

Leo's face melted into a puppy dog smile. He was coming down just as hard as the rain had.

**..::-::..**

Raph strolled down the streets of New York with a smirk on his face. Everything was going pretty well. He wasn't really one to be sentimental, but Raph couldn't help, but feel like maybe he wasn't as alone as he always thought he was. That maybe he did have a family that cared about him was something that he didn't think he'd have again ever.

Suddenly something ran straight into him nearly knocking him to his backend. Righting himself quickly he spun around and glared at the moron who ran into him. "Watch it!" He cried.

"You watch it!" Someone answered spinning around to face him. Raph stared at him for a second recognizing him as a boy around Raph's own age. He was missing his two front teeth and had a black bandanna on his forehead. It looked like he was wearing a sweatshirt that had the arms ripped off. Paint o fall colors was spattered all over him.

Raph shook his head from his thoughts, "You're de one who ran inta me!" He continued not wanting to give in.

"Then maybe you should stay out of my way!" The guy went on getting in Raph's face.

Raph started for a second. What the heck was this guy's problem? This made him mad and he could feel his core start to burn, "Maybe _you _should've stayed out of _my_ way!" Raph snapped shoving the kid into the wall. The kid didn't wait a second before lunching at him. They scuffled and threw punches at one another and somehow Raph managed to keep a lid on his anger somewhat so that he didn't give away his powers, but it was really hard. This kid was _really_ pissing him off.

Raph then managed to shove the kid up against the wall causing the boy to cry out, but he quickly learned it wasn't from pain, "Hey watch the paint!" He snapped shoving Raph away.

Raph stumbled back and looked up at said wall. On it was a giant skull eating a purple dragon. The hot head couldn't help, but stare, "Did you do dis?" He asked giving the kid an eye.

The kid shrugged and righted his clothes, "So what if I did? You got a problem with it?" He snapped glaring at him.

Raph shook his head and couldn't hide the smirk, "Nope." This in turn startled the kid who obviously wasn't expecting that answer. "Dis is really good!" And he was being honest. It wasn't Da Vinci amazing, but it was still pretty darn good for a punk kid.

The kid blinked, "Really?" He asked walking calmly up to Raph who was still admiring the work.

Raph nodded, "Yeah, you got some talent. But I gotta ask." Raph began turning to the kid and thumbing behind him at the art, "Why dat picture? What's it supposed ta mean?"

The kid smirked, "It means, no stinkin' Purple Dragons are going to be messin' with my town any more cause Casey Jones is the cleanup crew now." 'Casey Jones' said motioning to himself.

"You do realize how stupid dat is right?" Raph asked looking at him in a deadpan. The Purple Dragons were the toughest street gang in New York!

"Yep." Casey said with a confident smirk and nod of the head.

"And nothin' I say is gonna change dat."

"Yep."

Raph shrugged, "Whatever." He then turned back to the wall looking at it before he heard the sound of a spray can being opened and shook.

Looking over he saw Casey doing just that with his ever present smirk, "I got more cans."

Raph joined his smirk, "Gimmie the red one." Casey smiled and tossed it to him. "I'm Raph by de the way."

"Casey Jones." Casey answered.

Raph snorted, "I know. You already told me, ya bone head."

For the next few hours Raph and Casey spent their time tagging the alleys and Raph _was_ a little surprised that he was having a good time. Casey he found was very similar to him. He seemed to have the same mindset and understood that sometimes you just didn't talk about stuff no matter what people said. In fact he was having such a good time that he lost track of it.

Glancing at his T-Phone his eyes widened, '_Oh crud._' He thought before turning to Casey, "Hey sorry to be ditchin' ya, but I gotta go." He tossed Casey his spray can causing the boy to catch it.

"It's cool." Casey said with a shrug. "I'm planning on patrolling central park tomorrow night. Meet me at The Pond! On the corner of W 59th St. and 5th Ave.!" Casey called as Raph ran off.

"Will do!" Raph called waving back, '_If he doesn't kill me first._'

**..::-::..**

Mikey strolled happily down the street, he wasn't sure which one, eating a large bucket of ice cream. He had gone to the store with the intention of buying a gallon of the delicious treat for everyone, but he just couldn't resist the temptation of the sweet, mouthwatering, sugary goodness! So he popped the lid, borrowed a spoon from some restaurant, and went to town. He didn't get very far when he heard a soft noise coming from behind him. Startled he spun around only to see nothing.

Shrugging it off, after all, it was New York, strange noises were commonplace here, he moved on. Not two seconds later he heard it once more. Mikey spun around, but again he didn't see anything. Getting slightly frustrated he stated home once more, but fives steps later he heard it again. Mikey narrowed his eyes and concentrated on the fluttering like feeling that his core gave off and he felt himself calm and time seemed to slow. Taking a deep breath Mikey spun around and aimed his spoon dripping with ice cream at his stalker.

He was startled to see no one was there, but then he heard a soft meow and looked down to see a cute little orange and white stripped cat. The cat started licking at his ice cream covered spoon hungrily.

"Aww!" Mikey said kneeling down to pet the cat as he allowed it to eat his ice cream. "You are so cute! Do you have a home little kitty?" The cat paused to look up at him and mewl pitifully at him. Mikey's face fell as he gave him another bite, "That's okay little guy. I didn't have one for a really long time either. Now I do though!" He added happily. He and the cat sat there for a few minutes eating the ice cream together before Mikey came to a decision. He stood and picked up the little cat and smiled as it purred and rubbed under his chin, "I'm taking you home, little Ice Cream Kitty." The cat seemed to smile. He headed back towards home, but paused for a moment when a thought occurred to him, "I wonder if Master Splinter likes cats?" Mikey looked down at his new friend who then licked his cheek and shrugged, "Oh well guess I'll find out."

**..::-::..**


	14. Chapter 14

**Alrighty team! Sunday is here again! Hope you all love this chapter and please continue to tell me how much you love this story! Updates might be a little slower from now on, but fear not they will still come!**

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><p>Leo braced himself as he jumped down the hole and made his way to the Dojo. He was once again alone at his other home. After his, he supposed it was kind of like a date, with Karai he had returned to an empty home. His parents had left him a note saying they would return in three months and they would 'discuss what had happened at a later date'. Leo had just rolled his eyes not caring in the least. That was yesterday and he had gone straight here to the lair after school. It was already starting to get dark out. Winter was coming fast.<p>

Upon entering the lair he saw Donnie chasing Mikey around holding a spoon as a weapon and a cat was sitting on the couch simply watching as a red head he had never seen before stroked it's orange fur. Leo walked over to said red head and held out his hand, "I'm assuming you're April?" He asked politely.

She looked up at him and smiled as well shaking his hand, "Yes I am. You must be Leo. You don't seem like you're about to punch something."

Leo laughed and sat down next to her, "Yeah that's not really my MO." Looking at the other two who had yet to notice his presence he asked, "What's going on with them? And is that your cat?" He added pointing to the orange cat coming up to him and snuggling on his lap purring softly.

April shook her head and Leo started to pet it, "No, it's not mine. Mikey said it was your guys'. He's calling him Ice-Cream-Kitty. I have no idea why though. And as far as those two go. I have no clue. Mikey started whispering in Donnie's ear a few minutes after I got here and he started chasing him. You then literally showed up."

"Ah." Was all he said. He then looked at April as the cat went back to her and said, "Not that it's not nice to finally meet you, but what are you doing here?"

"I came here to see Donnie." She answered and Leo couldn't help, but smirk. She quickly amended her statement a little color coming to her cheeks, "I mean I came here to see him and tell him about some of the things I've been reading and hearing about."

"Like what?" Leo asked now curious.

"Well I wanted to help you guys fight off the Kraang. I mean this is my world too." Leo nodded and April continued, "I started looking up online different things, like alien sightings in New York. The first thing I saw was at the gym. I'm assuming that was you guys?" She asked with a smirk.

Leo had the grace to look somewhat embarrassed. "Yeah, a huge Kraang tried to kill us so you know, we used a power box to blow it up."

April's eyes widened a bit, but she nodded, "Yeah Donnie said something along those lines happened. Anyway I followed that line and found out people have been seeing lots of sightings at the docks. Apparently they've been unloading things all the time."

Leo nodded, "If that's the case, maybe we need to go and check it out." He said thoughtfully.

April nodded, "I was thinking the same thing." She then scowled. "I'd love to help, but I'd pretty much be dead weight. I don't know how to fight." She said dejectedly.

"Then perhaps it is time you learned." Another voice said drawing everyone's attention and causing Donnie and Mikey to finally stop chasing one another. Master Splinter stood in the door of the Dojo before he walked over to them and smiled down at April. "If the Kraang are after you, Miss O'Neil, then it would be wise to learn how to defend yourself."

April stared at Master in shock, clearly she had yet to meet him yet, before she came to her senses and stood, holding out her hand. "I would like that." She answered, "You must be Master Splinter. It's nice to meet you and please just call me April." She added with a smile.

Master Splinter shook her hand and nodded, "It is a pleasure to finally meet you as well."

"Are you going to start training April now too, sensei?" Donnie asked coming to stand next to her.

"I believe that would be wise." He answered. "Would you like to learn the art of Ninjitsu April?"

April smiled, "When can we start?" She asked excitedly.

"Now if you wish." Master Splinter answered smiling at her eagerness. He then turned to Leo, "I believe it would be prudent to go to the docks and scope out the situation as you said, Leonardo. However avoid battle if you can. Looking for a fight is never a good decision."

Leo nodded then turned to the other two, "You guys ready?" He asked.

Mikey nodded as Donnie spoke, "Sure. Should we call Raph?" He asked pulling out his T-Phone.

Leo nodded, "Yeah, I'm not planning on anything of than recon, but if we do get into trouble we could use his help." Donnie nodded and dialed the number. It rang and rang, but Raph never answered. They tried again, but there was still no answer.

Donnie pulled the phone away from his ear in confusion, "I wonder what he's doing?" He asked almost to himself.

Leo shrugged, "It doesn't matter. He can meet us there later if he calls back. For now, let's get going." The other two nodded and they all focused on their cores allowing them to change into their turtle forms. When they were done they looked like the Ninja turtles they were. Leo turned to a very impressed looking April and a proud looking Master Splinter. "We'll be back later." Master Splinter nodded and they headed out.

Leo, Mikey, and Donnie all ran along the roof tops of New York towards the dock each in their own thoughts before Mikey spoke up, "So… what are we gonna do when we get there?" He asked as he jumped a ventilation shaft.

Leo thought for a moment, "We're going to see if April was right and see who is at the docks."

"How will we know it's the Kraang?" Mikey asked voice one of Leo's own worries.

"I'm not sure." Leo answered.

"When I fought them against April they looked exactly the same. This guy with short black hair, a vacant expression, and a business suit on." Donnie added helpfully.

Leo looked at them, "When I first saw the Kraang in the alleyway that's what the two looked like too."

"Dudes with business suits. Got it." Mikey said with a smile before picking up his pace. They arrived fairly quickly at the East Docks and remained in the shadows. At first they didn't see or hear anything, but then as they came closer to the large cargo containers they saw just what they were looking for. At least 20 men who all looked exactly the same were unloading and loading boxes onto trucks. Some were hold weird silver/glowing purpleish-pink gun looking things. "I think we found what we were lookin' for." Mikey said quietly. Donnie and Leo nodded. They then noticed several ninjas helping them.

"Who are they?" Leo asked pointing to the ninjas.

"I don't know." Donnie whispered. "I thought we'd be the only ninjas in New York."

Leo nodded then led them around the large containers and towards where a group of them Kraang and ninja were standing, "The shipment known as shipment 9 is almost completed." One Kraang said.

"Yes Kraang. Kraang however still is in requirement of the one known as April O'Neil. She is still required to further the plan known as Master Shredder's rule." Leo felt Donnie tense beside him and he saw the normally gentle turtle narrow his eyes dangerously at the Kraang droid.

Leo gently placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him, bringing the purple banded turtle back. He was still glaring, but he was more focused now as he nodded at Leo's support before they looked back at the Kraang.

"Kraang had the one known as April O'Neil yet Kraang allowed her to escape. Explain."

"I will explain Kraang. Kraang and Kraang had the one known as April O'Neil, but then a creature Kraang has never encountered before stopped Kraang form having the one known as April O'Neil."

"Then Kraang must destroy the one known as the creature."

Mikey then nudged Donnie, "Way to go bro, you made some new friends!" He whispered happily.

"Mikey!" Donnie snapped in a hushed whisper nudging him back. Mikey nudged him back and Donnie nudged him pushing him back into a large box. They accidently knocked over one of the boxes the Kraang were unloading and noise alerted everything.

Leo glared at them, "Smooth move you guys." He hissed. Donnie and Mikey had the grace to look sheepish.

"Look." Donnie said pointing inside the box. It was full of the same weapons the Kraang were carrying. "We can't let these things have all of these!" Just as he said that purple laser fire shot right passed them startling them apart.

"Then we need to stop the Kraang and these ninjas and destroy all the cargo!" Leo cried pulling out his Katana. Donnie and Mikey pulled out theirs as well.

"And don't get killed!" Mikey added before they jumped into battle.

Leo jumped into battle knocking down two ninja at once with a well place double kick. He then quickly moved on to slashing the Kraang to bits. When he robots were destroyed the little brain things crawled out of them squealing before they evaporated into red smoke. Leo stared in shock for a second before moving on. He could ask about that later. Looking around he saw the ninjas were retreating as the Kraang were being depleted rather quickly. Donnie and Mikey took out the last one together and all three of them watched as the pink went up in red smoke.

"What happened to it?" Mikey asked still watching the red smoke disperse.

"I don't know. Maybe we could asked Master Splinter. He might know." Leo answered.

"When I fought them the first time, they did that too." Donnie offered looking confused as well. They then turned their attention on the tons of boxes still filled with weapons. "Now what do we do?"

Leo sheathed his Katana and grabbed a spare gun, "We destroy them." He answered before firing on as many boxes and crates that he could see. Donnie and Mikey nodded before grabbing guns of their own and destroying even more boxes. Finally they were done and used Leo's gun to destroy the last two.

Leo was about to throw the other gun into the harbor, but Donnie stopped him, "Wait Leo!" He cried halting his movements, "I could use that."

"What do you mean?" Leo asked handing the gun over anyway.

"If I could reverse engineer some of this technology, it could help us fight off the Kraang." Donnie answered somewhat excitedly.

Leo nodded as they suddenly heard sirens in the back ground. "Let's get out of here." They all nodded but before Leo followed them he ripped one of the emblems off of the ninja. Master Splinter he knew would want to see it.

Arriving back at the lair they saw April had headed home, much to Donnie's chagrin, but instead of doing the same, they headed right to Master Splinter and told him everything that had happened after changing back to their human selves.

Master Splinter thoughtfully stroked his chin hair before saying, "You all did well. It is disconcerting that the Kraang have already so ingrained themselves into our world and that they require April. I wonder why." He added to himself.

"Sensei, why is it that when we defeated the Kraang they just disappear in red smoke?" Leo asked his curiosity driving him.

"That is because they are minions of the Shredder. They are not of this world and when you defeat they are sent back." He answered with a smile.

Leo nodded, "That makes sense."

"If you will excuse me, my sons. I wish to meditate on this new information." They all nodded and bowed to him before Master Splinter stepped out.

"Well at least that helps get rid of them." Donnie said. Leo nodded still thinking and hoping Donnie was right and they were just wasting their time.

"Dude!" Mikey cried drawing everyone's attention as Raph walked in looking down. "What happened to you?!" Mikey then ran up to him worriedly.

Raph had a black eye, a fat lip and a few cuts on his face. Mikey reached up to help him, but the hot head shoved his hand away angrily, "I'm fine!" He snapped. "I don't need ya help! Go away and leave me de heck alone ya baby!" Startled, Mikey took a step back at Raph's unexplained aggression towards him.

Leo shoved Raph away from Mikey, "Back off Raph!" Leo demanded, "Mikey's just worried about you! You didn't answer your phone and now you show up like this!"

"Back off! He don't need ta be! I can take care of myself!" Raph snapped again, shoving Leo back.

"I wasn't saying that! We're just worried!" Leo cried shoving Raph roughly again.

"I told ya, I don't need ya ta be!" Raph roared before lunging at Leo, his anger changing him to his turtle form. He threw a punch towards Leo's face, but Leo was able to take a step back and avoid it. He grabbed Raph's hand and yanked it behind his back holding him there. "Let me go!" Raph roared struggling.

"Not until you calm down!" Leo yelled.

"Guys stop!" Mikey begged as he and Donnie stood by watching them fight.

"I said get offa me, Fearless!" Raph yelled before he was able to twist out of the hold and slam a kick into Leo's side sending him flying into the wall. Raph then started glowing his Chi activating as he went to attack Leo again. "I don't need ya help!" He yelled as he went to punch Leo. Leo rolled out of the way quickly activating his own Chi as Raph's fist collided with the wall turning the concrete to dust and making a whole. "Not everyone wants ta talk! Not everyone has dis perfect little life!"

"I never said that!" Leo said blocking another punch from him before jumping up and over him to avoid his kick only Raph caught him as he turned it into a round-house.

"Ya think ya can jus' wave ya magic fingers an' everythin' will go away! But I got news for ya Leo, not everythin' is perfect!" Raph went on ranting as Donnie and Mikey continued to watch helplessly. "Sometimes people jus want ta be left alone!"

Leo grabbed Raph again and held him up against the wall, "We're supposed to be a team! We're supposed to support each other and help each other! But we can't do that if you shut us out!"

"I don't need ya!" Raph screamed before slamming his head back and colliding with Leo's making the blue glowing turtle stubble back and let him go. But Raph didn't stop there. He turned around and slammed his fist into Leo sending him flying once more. Leo lay there dazed for a bit his Chi no longer activated before Raph went to charge after him his fist raised when something or rather someone, stopped him.

"Raphael! Stop it now!" Mikey demanded holding him back, "What is wrong with you!? You're hurting Leo!"

Looking at Mikey's worried, pleading eyes, Raph looked over to where Donnie was helping Leo stand. All the anger left Raph as he saw Leo struggling somewhat to his feet. Mikey, sensing Raph's anger leave as he let his Chi go, dropped his arm. "Leo I… I…"

"We're your friends Raphael. We don't think your weak if you ask for help, or if you need it." Leo told him with a stern expression before he softened and walked up to Mikey and Raph, Donnie trailing behind, "We just want you to be okay and we want to help. Not because we think you can't do it on your own, but because we care."

"We're a team." Donnie added with a firm nod.

"We're brothers, bro." Mikey agreed looking pleadingly at him.

Raph looked away and glared at the ground. For a long moment he was silent then he spoke. "It's my so called step-dad." He answered reluctantly. "He didn't like it dat we ran outta beer." Then suddenly everything made sense and Leo felt his own anger rise. How _dare_ he! How _dare_ he hurt Raphael!

"Raph," Donnie said gently, "You have to go to the police."

For a second Raph looked like he was absolutely terrified of that idea then his regular mask of anger found its way back. "I can't." He growled.

"Why not?" Mikey asked softly.

"Because my mom still thinks she loves 'im." Raph answered bitterly. "And," He went on a little deflated, "Jason wouldn't like dat."

Raph was afraid.

Leo felt his anger rising once more. Raph was one of the toughest people he knew and he was afraid of someone who was supposed to protect him and care for him. Instead he hurt him.

"You must face this, Raphael." Master Splinter said making himself known for the first time. Leo suspected that he had been there since the beginning of the fight. "You must end this injustice and make the truth known. Only then will you triumph." Looking at Master Splinter, Leo saw the anger in the rat's eyes. If he had it his way, Master Splinter would rip 'Jason' to pieces.

However Raph didn't see this. He looked at Master Splinter like a lost puppy, "But how? He's… stronger den me." Raph added so quietly while looking away Leo almost missed it.

"He is only as strong and as powerful as you allow him to be." Master Splinter answered. "Once you take that power away, he cannot defeat you." Raph still looked unsure. Master Splinter put his hand on Raph's shoulder, "I know you are afraid." Raph's head snapped up about ready to deny it, but he never did. "But you must have courage. Having courage does not mean you are not afraid, but that you do not let it control you. Doing the right thing is rarely easy, but it is what must be done. Otherwise you will forever be afraid and unable to change anything. And this problem will only grow until it consumes you."

Leo placed his hand on Raph's shoulder as they all stepped up to him. "You won't be alone, Raph. You have us."

"We'll be with you every step of the way." Donnie went on smiling.

"Because you're the bravest person I know, bro" Mikey added quietly looking at Raph in admiration.

It was a few minutes before Raph looked at them then smiled with a nod, "Let's go."


	15. Chapter 15

**Holy snap! I'm sorry about that guys! I forgot to update Sunday and I was so freaking exhausted Monday, but here it is Tuesday! YEAH! Anywho, thanks for all the love and support and please enjoy this next chapter!**

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><p>A month. It had been 1 month since they first found out about Raph. Both Raph and his mother with the help of the police had moved out of the home they had shared with Jason. He had been arrested and the court date was set for next month. They were both in counseling now much to Raph's chagrin, but it seemed to be helping. Or maybe that was because of them. That night they had gone with Raph to the police station and had stayed with him. Even when the police had led him into another room to speak to him privately, they had stayed. When he had come out he had angry tears in his eyes, but none of them had said a word and they had returned home together. Raph and his mother now stayed in a little apartment in lower east Manhattan, but he really just stayed at the lair most of the time. He even moved his pet turtle (go figure) Spike, in with them.<p>

As for the fight with the Foot and the Kraang went, they were pretty much stopping them every night. April had started training with them and she had become a familiar sight around the lair. Leo knew it wasn't just because of her need to help them but because of a certain purple wearing brother of his. The googly eyes they sent to each other was now starting to get ridiculous.

Another familiar face that had joined the team was a one Casey Jones. A friend Raph had met a few weeks before. They all liked Casey, but he was a little too much like Raph at times. They had accidentally let him in on the secret when he had followed them to the lair and saw them change before training one day. They didn't have much choice after that. It turned out alright in the end. They had more allies to fight with and the more they fought, the more Leo realized they needed the help.

Leo was happy to say that morale was back. About two weeks after they had moved Raph and his mother to their new apartment they had run into a chilling truth about the Foot clan.

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><p><em>Leo dodged another swipe from the sword the Foot ninja was wielding and took a glance at everyone else. Mikey was having a great time fighting offannoying the heck out of 3 Foot ninja while Donnie was massacring the Kraang. Raph as usual was pulverizing everything. Leo smirked, they were doing fine, but then suddenly the Foot pulled back all at once. "Where de heck are dey going?" Raph grumbled not at all happy about the turn of events. Before any of them could answer someone else step forward. He had on armor like nothing they had ever seen. It was metal spikes and razor sharp metal talons on his right hand. He had on a helmet that had the Foot insignia on it and a facemask. He just stood there waiting not doing anything._

_Finally Raph had had enough and charged forward, "Raph wait!" Leo cried in vain. The metal man blocked every one of Raph's blows like he was a child before seizing him by the throat and squeezing. Raph started choking and dropped his Sai so he could scrabble at his neck trying to get himself free. They all cried out for him, but before they had a chance to attack the man through Raph at them. He landed on them all in a pile on the ground._

_Leo stood at once in front of them as Mikey came to join him at his side while Donnie checked on Raph. Leo and Mikey charged at the metal man each fighting him the best they could. They were both thrown to the side pathetically. Leo sat up as Mikey groaned in pain Donnie then jumped in to battle but was quickly defeated as well. "Donnie?" Leo questioned not taking his eyes off the man who was staring him down. "How's Raph?"_

_"It's all right." Donnie answered, "He's breathing."_

_"He will not be for long and neither will you." The man said finally speaking. His voice was dark, deep, and menacing. It sent chills down their spines. "You have interfered in my business for the last time. Know my name and fear it. I am the Shredder. I will give you your first and last warning. Interfere again and it will be the last thing you ever do."_

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><p>They had limped home after that nursing their wounds and pride. Master Splinter nearly went berserk for a week with their training until finally they knocked some sense into him. Yes they needed to train and yes they were unprepared but no they didn't need to work themselves to death! Master Splinter then explained why he had been so afraid. The Shredder was Saki. The man responsible for his family's death. They had all remained silent the rest of the day.<p>

On a more positive not with himself, Leo's relationship with Karai was progressing nicely. They hung out quite a bit and spared nearly every night. She was brilliant, beautiful and dangerous, but for whatever reason Leo was never concerned. He trusted Karai and she seemed to trust him which was proven to him when she stopped their spar early one evening and told him a truth that would spark another. "My father and I moved here from Japan searching for the monster that killed my mother."

Leo nearly dropped his Katana. "What?" He asked confused and blinking as he stood and sheathed his swords.

Karai sighed and looked like maybe she had really not wanted to say anything to begin with, but as he had learned Karai wasn't afraid of anything so she took a seat on the edge of the roof and plowed right on through. "When I was a baby there was a… _man_," She growled the word, "Who had fallen in love with my mother, but she had chosen my father. This _man_ didn't like that and tried to kill both myself and my mother, but my father saved me. He couldn't save my mother from that _monster_ and before my father could stop him for good the coward ran away here." She looked up into the New York skyline as the wind ruffled her hair making her look even more beautiful to Leo. "We've been searching for him for 15 years, but he evaded us. Now finally we have a clue." She turned back to him with a very serious face, "He's started his own ninja clan to try and fight us because he knows we're here. Please Leo," She begged, "Have you seen any ninjas in New York?"

Leo stared at her. Seen ninjas in New York… heck yeah he has! They literally try to kill him and his team nearly every night! He decided to share. "Yes I have."

Karai's face lite up beautifully, "You have? Where?"

"They're all over the city, mostly at the docks though." He answered before turning to her, "They're incredibly dangerous Karai."

"I know." She said nodding.

Leo shook his head, "No you don't." Karai looked at him confused, "Practically every night they try to kill me." He paused trying to debate whether or not to tell her the truth. He didn't want her to be involved like he was and constantly be in danger. He cared about her too much. But if she was out looking for trouble anyway and he knew she wouldn't listen to his 'stay away' line, she was just that stubborn, he at least had to warn her. "They're trying to resurrect an ancient evil to help destroy this world." He quickly added, "I know it's hard to believe-"

"Wouldn't put it past him." Karai snarled interrupting a now surprised Leo.

The young man blinked, "What?"

"I said I wouldn't put it past that monster to try such a horrible thing." She said and Leo felt sad for her. She never had a mother he knew somewhat how that felt, but not really. At least his mother was still alive. They were silent for a while before Karai once again turned her shinning eyes on him, "Do you know where they are now?"

Leo stared at her for a second before shaking his head, "Karai, you don't understand what you're asking, they're dangerous."

She rolled her eyes, "Please Leo, you know I can handle myself."

"Yes I realize that." He conceded, "But they're different. There's more to them than you think and-"

"Please Leo." Karai said again softly looking at him with pleading eyes. "He murdered my mother."

It was then, looking into her beautiful honey colored eyes that Leo did the dumbest or smartest thing he could have done. He nodded, "Alright, but we have to hurry." She smiled and nodded and they were off towards the docks.

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><p>Leo and Karai moved swiftly through the city on silent feet from roof top to roof top until they ran out and jumped to the ground. They didn't have to look long before they spotted the group of ninjas loading and unloading cargo into Kraang vehicles. "That's them." Leo answered nodding his head towards the Foot ninja. He pulled out his Katana and looked to Karai, "Listen I know this is really weird and everything, but those guys in suits are really bad and whatever it is that they are getting from the Foot ninja can't be good. We have to stop them." Leo was about ready to jump into battle before Karai grabbed hold of him making him pause, "What?" He asked confused.<p>

Karai looked a little lost before she gestured for him to follow her. Leo really wanted to argue and fight off the Kraang and Foot, but something about the way Karai looked at him made him pause. It was like she was… scared. As he had said, he had never known Karai to be afraid of anything, but he supposed she had a right to be. This was pretty scary and if he hadn't been living it for the past 3 weeks he probably would've been scared too.

So with that thought in mind he followed Karai away from the docks and onto the roof tops. Once they were far enough away Karai started pacing some. "They aren't supposed to be there." She finally said as he jumped to join her stopping her pacing.

Leo was confused, "Who's not supposed to be where?"

"The Foot. They're not supposed to be there. We didn't have a shipment tonight. I wasn't told about them meeting those men in suits." Karai answered before starting to talk to herself.

"Wait," Leo began, "How do you know about Foot clan activities?"

"Because I'm part of the Foot clan. My father runs it." Karai answered with a roll of her eyes.

Leo's own eyes widened, "You're part of the Foot clan!?" He cried shocked. That wasn't good.

"Yes!" Karai snapped. "I'm trying to find the Hamato clan!"

"Hamato!?" Leo cried again. "Why are you trying to find the Hamato clan?"

Karai let out an exasperated sound, "Because the man that killed my mother is their leader! Hamato Yoshi!"

Leo felt like he just got punched in the gut without his shell. That couldn't be right. Master Splinter would _never_ hurt someone let alone _kill_ them! Master Splinter had told them his real name when they had asked him what his life was like before his change. He had been very forth coming and open with them and Leo was reminded about how much his adoptive father had lost. He shook his head refusing to believe it. "That can't be right."

"My father told me so." Karai insisted.

"Then who is your father?" Leo snapped a little exasperated himself.

"He used to be Hamato's best friend before that monster betrayed him. My father's name is Oroku Saki."

Okay _now_ Leo felt like he was punched in the gut without his shell. How… how… what… wa… ah… He couldn't even form a thought!

Karai carried on, "That monster killed my mother and I'm going to kill him." She growled. "He's part of the Hamato clan. I've seen proof of them here in New York and I was hoping you would help me." She said looking at him, her eyes softening just slightly.

Finally Leo regained the ability to speak, "Karai your mother wouldn't happen to be Tang Shen, would she?" Leo asked eyeing warily.

Karai tensed and pulled out her weapon. "How the hell did you know that? I never told you her name."

Leo couldn't believe it. Master Splinter's daughter, whom he thought was long since passed, was standing right in front of him and he had been dating her for the past month and a half! He needed to play this wisely. He really cared about Karai and he didn't want to lose her and he didn't want her to be lied to anymore. "Listen Karai I know this is going to be hard to believe, but you haven't been told the whole truth."

Karai's eyes narrowed at him and she refused to move out of her battle ready state, "What are you talking about?"

"Oroku Saki is lying to you." Leo said as gently as he could.

"Excuse me?" Karai hissed her eyes becoming dangerous slits.

Apparently he didn't say nearly as gently as he should have.

"He isn't your real father. Hamato Yoshi is." Leo said and before she could stab him he brought out his Katana and blocked her swing. "Oroku Saki loved your mother Tang Shen, but she chose Yoshi." He went on even as she continued to attack him in rage. "They got married and had you, but Saki was jealous and challenged Yoshi to a duel. Yoshi won, but Saki cheated. In the fight your house caught on fire and Yoshi thought you and Tang Shen both died in the blaze!"

"You liar!" Karai screeched attacking harder.

"It's true!" Leo cried back refusing to attack her back, only blocking. "He talks about you all the time and says how much he misses you and your mother. Your real name is Miwa!"

"Shut up!" Karai roared getting a lucky strike and cutting his arm pretty deeply.

Leo hissed and grabbed his arm in pain, but he didn't have time to think much about it as she went at him again. "I not going to stop Karai, this is the truth and you've been lied to long enough! He has a picture of the three of you in a memorial shrine!"

This made Karai pause, "What?" She snapped.

"He has a family photo of you, him, and your mother, Tang Shen in a memorial in the dojo. He never stops missing you." Leo went on slowly as their death battle seemed to pause, "Sometimes I catch him just looking at the photo and he's…" Leo trailed off sadly remember a time when he had done just as he was saying and it hurt his heart seeing a man he had come to love in so much pain. "He's so sad."

"Why should I believe anything you say!?" Karai snapped taking a step away from him. Neither one of them sheathed their weapons. "You just told me you're the enemy I've come to stop! Why should I believe the lies of a _Hamato_?" She spat the name with disgust.

Leo looked her straight in the eyes, "Because it's the truth." He answered simply. Karai's face fell a bit as it seemed his words affected her slightly, but then she scowled at him again. So he went on, "You said so yourself, the Foot ninja aren't supposed to be at the docks. You weren't told the whole truth. Oroku Saki is dangerous Karai and what he's trying to do it horrible." He decided to tell her even if it was dangerous she needed to know. "He's working together with the Kraang, these demon servants to raise up the real demon Shredder to take over the world and destroy everything. Yoshi has been chosen to help train myself and along with three others to use our new abilities to stop this from happening." Karai looked like she didn't believe a word he was saying and in all honesty he didn't really blame her, but he pushed forward anyway. "I've never once lied to you Karai and I've been completely honest with you about everything. Why would I suddenly now change all that?"

"Because you found out we're enemies." She answered without a second thought.

Leo shook his head, "But you're not my enemy Karai. I'll prove it to you." Leo closed eyes and tapped into his pulsing core and changed instantly. He didn't really even need to think about it anymore, it came so naturally to him. He opened his eye to see a shocked Karai. "I told you, I'm telling the truth. I've been chosen along with Mikey, Donnie, and Raph to fight this demon Shredder and stop him from rising. I don't know why Saki is trying to raise him up, but he is!"

Karai shook her head in stubbornness, "We're enemies." She said refusing to look at him.

"Again you're not my enemy." Leo went on patiently, "You're my girlfriend and I care about you." He then looked at her pleadingly, "I don't want anything to happen to you. Just ask Saki to tell you the truth when he lies to you, you'll know for sure."

Karai shook her head as she took a few steps back and away from him, "I'm nothing to you anymore Leonardo." She said angrily, ignoring his last statement, "From now on, you and I are enemies. And if I see you again…" She narrowed her eyes at him, "I'll kill you too." With that she jumped off the roof and was gone.

"Karai!" Leo called out racing the edge to try and stop her, but it was too late.

She was gone.

Leo felt his heart grow heavy. Not just from the truth he now knew and for Master Splinter's loss yet again, but for the loss of Karai in his life. Leo was telling her the truth when he said he cared about her. He cared about her a great deal and was scared for her. He just hoped she would be okay.


End file.
